Ossie: We don’t hype Barkley up in the dressing room, he may get a pat on the back
Leon Osman has said that Ross Barkley doesn’t buy into all the hype that surrounds him at the moment and shows an untypical footballer mentality and to help with this all his team mates offered him after his stunning goal at Newcastle was a pat on the back and a well done.
Barkley is on track to the World Cup in Brazil and scored against Newcastle with a stunning 70 yard run and finish and Osman firmly believes that he is well equipped to do well in Brazil.
“Of course, we congratulated him,” said Osman on Barkleys goal.
“But we didn’t want to over-emphasise it.
“It was a stunning effort and we’re pleased for him but we don’t need to hype him up in our dressing room anymore because everybody else can do that.
“It’s our job to keep his feet on the ground. He got a pat on the back and then it was a case of let’s get on with it.”
“The character of the lad is such that he doesn’t really buy into the hype,” added Osman.
“He just keeps his head down and works hard. He’s heading in the right direction.
“Of course, when you see him do things like that, it is hard not go get carried away but we should let him keep developing and not put too much pressure on him.”
He said: “I’m absolutely convinced he will do very well because he’s such a level-headed young man.
“In the last few weeks, he has shown what he is capable of producing and with his self-belief, who knows what could happen on the bigger stage?”
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