Kevin Ratcliffe comments on Kevin Mirallas situation

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Everton legend Kevin Ratcliffe wants Ronald Koeman to integrate Kevin Mirallas into his plans.

Everton legend Kevin Ratcliffe wrote in his column for the Liverpool Echo that Kevin Mirallas can still be a valuable asset for the side.

The 30-year-old winger has only made two substitute appearances in the Premier League this season, clocking just 21 minutes of action.

He was linked with a move to Olympiakos in the summer, but Everton pulled the plug on the deal towards the closing stages of the transfer window.

Mirallas is now in his sixth season at the club. He made 35 Premier League appearances last season, but Koeman has had issues with the Belgian’s attitude problems.

With Everton having made a poor start to the season, Ratcliffe believes that Mirallas can still play a vital role for the Toffees.

He says that the Belgian can be world class at times, and poor at other times. However, it is the job of the manager to make him a consistent performer.

Ratcliffe believes that leaving a player of Mirallas’s quality out in the cold is not helping Everton.

“Kevin Mirallas wasn’t even on the bench on Sunday – just as he wasn’t against Bournemouth and Sunderland in the Carabao Cup. But he was against Apollon Limassol,” wrote Ratcliffe for The Liverpool Echo.

“I found his absence on those three occasions strange. Now there are two sides to this. The player might be sulking, but is the manager sulking as well?

“He is there to manage the players and I think Kevin Mirallas can still be a valuable asset to us. I know he can be an 8/10 performer one week and a 4/10 the next. That’s what your Kevin Mirallas’s of the world are, otherwise they would be playing at a club in the Champions League.

“It’s the manager’s responsibility to turn that player into a six or a seven out of 10 every week. I don’t think Koeman is one of those managers who puts his arm around a player and says ‘come on, I know you’re a better player than this.’

“I don’t think he’s that type of manager and that’s probably where the seeds of Ross Barkley’s disaffection comes from. I think Mirallas is also in that bracket and simply ignoring him is helping no-one.”