Ross Barkley believes he needs to wise up to recapture his edge after admitting he has fallen below the standards of his dazzling debut season . The Everton midfielder lit up Roberto Martinez ’ s first campaign in charge and was instrumental in helping his side reclaim a place in Europe ; his form was so good that he broke into England ’ s squad and went to the World Cup in Brazil . This time around , though , things have not been so straightforward . Barkley began the campaign by damaging his medial ligaments and he has struggled to recapture his swagger , playing in unfamiliar roles out on the wing . Ross Barkley scored Everton 's third goal against Newcastle United during their 3-0 win on Sunday . Barkley began the campaign by damaging his medial ligaments and has struggled for form . But Barkley looked sharper after he came on as a substitute in Sunday ’ s 3-0 win over Newcastle and he restored some confidence by scoring the final goal . He maintains the education has been beneficial and is determined to have a string finish to the campaign , starting in Kiev on Thursday . ‘ It has been a tough season for me , ’ said Barkley . ‘ I ’ m still learning and I am still a young lad . Every game is different and because last year was my first full season in the Premier League and then maybe no one really knew about me . ‘ Maybe this season they know part of my game and it is up to me to learn and adapt . If people think they know what I am going to do , I have to come up with something different and have other options . ‘ Our season hasn ’ t been the best and everyone else is still learning , but hopefully this season will be a good experience for me . I know I haven ’ t been at my best but the gaffer will give us confidence in training saying he knows what we are capable of . ‘ All the backroom staff and the more vocal lads in the team like Gareth Barry , Sylvain Distin , Jags , Bainesy , Tim Howard – all the older lads in the team , the most experienced ones , they help us because they have all been through similar experiences . Listening to what they say helps. ’ Barkley looked sharper after he came on as a substitute in Sunday ’ s 3-0 win over Newcastle at Goodison Park . Everton manager Roberto Martinez pictured during their 3-0 win against Newcastle . For all that things have not gone as Barkley would have wanted , both from a personal and club perspective , he has never gone into hiding during games and that was shown against Newcastle ; before he scored his goal , Barkley had missed a clear chance . ‘ I am always going to try and want the ball , ’ said Barkley . ‘ That is the way I have been brought up through the academy . Even if I make a mistake , I will keep wanting the ball because I know eventually things will click together and I will create chances and the goals will come . ‘ I feel like this can be a turning point for me and the team . All the lads were buzzing , we got three points and you could see the crowd were happy as well . Everyone is getting on with each other and we are looking forward to the games coming up , gathering some points and climbing up the table. ’ Before Everton ’ s next Barclays Premier League assignment against Queens Park Rangers , they can book a place in the Europa League quarter-finals if they preserve the 2-1 advantage they secured against Dynamo Kiev last Thursday . ‘ We are going to approach it the way we approach every game , ’ said Barkley . ‘ We did well at home and hopefully now we can do that in the away game . We have to be positive and give our all . ’
Ross Barkley lit up Roberto Martinez 's first campaign in charge . The England international admits his form has dipped this season . Barkley began the campaign by damaging his medial ligaments . He was ruled out for six months and only returned to training last week after a successful operation on his knee.