Roberto Martinez is backing Ross Barkley to become an even more influential player for Everton and England after negotiating second-season syndrome at Goodison Park . Barkley has had an indifferent campaign for the Toffees on the back of his inclusion in last summer ’ s England World Cup party and a knee operation which disrupted his return to domestic duty . But England coach Roy Hodgson has kept faith with the 21-year-old and Martinez believes his two substitute appearances for England against Lithuania and Italy over the past week have shown that the midfielder is ready to kick on again . Roberto Martinez is backing Ross Barkley to become an even more influential player for Everton and England . Barkley impressed after coming off the substitutes bench during England 's 1-1 draw in Turin . Martinez said : 'Ross is a young man but he is used to having to deal with extremes . When he plays well he is probably the best footballer England has . When he has a bad game it ’ s the end of the world . 'He has achieved an incredible level of maturity this season . 'He had to go through a period of difficulty the same way we have as a team and I think he has learned a lot . 'It doesn ’ t surprise me , he has had a big impact when he came on in both games with England . He was ready to do that . Barkley replaced Theo Walcott in the second half and looked bright as the Three Lions earned a draw . The 21-year-old celebrates after scoring for Everton during their 3-0 victory against Newcastle . 'He will benefit from the experiences of this difficult season . This is his second full season in an important role in the squad . He enjoys that responsibility and taking responsibility in big games . 'He has an incredible technical ability and , with the physicality he has , you don ’ t see many players in world football with those capabilities . 'We know who Ross is and how important he is for the future of Everton. ” . Everton ’ s struggles this season have seen them flirt with relegation and although wins over Newcastle and QPR have eased their plight , Martinez insists guaranteeing safety is still their only immediate target going into Saturday ’ s visit of sixth-placed Southampton . Martinez insists guaranteeing safety is still Everton 's only immediate target ahead of Saturday 's match . The Everton boss added : 'There ’ s no distraction from our league position . That ’ s everything that matters . 'Those two wins have given us a real sense of confidence and belief for what ’ s in front of us . 'Forty points is still the target . Nothing has changed until we achieve that and then we will try and get as high up the table as we can . ' Top scorer Romelu Lukaku will face a fitness test on the hamstring injury that kept him out of Belgium ’ s internationals but midfielder Darron Gibson is expected to be fit to face the Saints . Wingers Kevin Mirallas and Steven Pienaar have also recovered from injury and could be included . Top scorer Romelu Lukaku ( centre ) will face a fitness test on his hamstring injury .
Roberto Martinez impressed during England 's 1-1 draw against Italy . Ross Barkley hopes Barkley can kick on for Everton . Everton face Premier League clash against Southampton on Saturday .