Morgan hopes to help Ross be Everton’s boss

MORGAN SCHNEIDERLIN insists he won’t mind playing the role of Everton’s midfield minder if it brings the best out of Ross Barkley.

Schneiderlin completed his £22m move from Manchester United last Thursday.

He will go straight into contention for today’s game against Manchester City.

It quickly became obvious that the Frenchman was not going to figure in Jose Mourinho’s long-term plans at Old Trafford, and he didn’t want to hang about.

Now he has linked up with his old Southampton manager, Ronald Koeman, in a bid to get his career going again.

And Schneiderlin admits he will be happy to do the dirty work in midfield to give Barkley more room ahead of him to influence proceedings.

“I love Ross as a player,” he says. “As soon as you see his touch, you can see that he has something special.

“It doesn’t take long to see his quality. He has this thing, this spark in him that can change games at any moment.

“Of course because he is English, everyone looks at him very closely because there is a very high expectation.

“When he has one or two games when he’s a bit low, it’s always a big story.

“But I am sure he will become one of the best players in England.

“He has had some good seasons with Everton but I want to be here to feed him a lot and help him play the best possible.

“Ross has been a very difficult opponent for me. He is the kind of player who can dribble with both feet.

“He can shoot from far, he can find some good passes, he is always in the box. And he is very strong, too.

“I want to help him and help other players. That is my thing as a defensive midfield player.

“Ross will be in front of me so I want to feed him. Hopefully he will be what he is for many years – a great player.”

While Schneiderlin prepares to work with Everton’s latest star, he has just said goodbye to a former Toffees hero.

Wayne Rooney needs one more goal to go past Sir Bobby Charlton as Manchester United’s alltime leading goalscorer.

Schneiderlin feels lucky to have shared a dressing-room with him.

“Wayne is a guy who everyone criticises when he has one or two bad games,” he assesses.

“But look at his stats. Look at what he’s done in his playing career. You have to respect that.

“What he does on the pitch is just amazing. I hope he’s going to break this record very soon.

“He is someone you are very lucky to have in England.”