There is a video circulating of Thierno Barry breaking down in tears during a one-on-one training session last season. The Everton striker had reached such a low point that even extra work on the training pitch felt futile. That raw moment of vulnerability, however, may prove to be the turning point in his career.

Scott Chickelday, the individual coach who was with Barry during that session, spoke to Sky Sports about what he witnessed. "He was on the floor when I met him and that video obviously shows it," Chickelday said. "Those were true tears — real emotion."

Opening up to the fans

Barry chose to share that footage publicly, a decision that Chickelday acknowledges carried real risk. "It could have gone two ways for him," he concedes. Instead, the response from Everton supporters has been overwhelmingly positive. "When you play badly as a player you get labelled for picking up your money and not caring. That video — a lot of Everton supporters have looked at it and thought, 'you know what, yes, he does bloody care.'"

The fact that Barry reached out to Chickelday in the first place speaks to his determination. He has thrown himself into extra pre-season camps, chasing fitness and mental fortitude simultaneously. "He has come back mentally stronger," says Chickelday.

Goals and momentum

The results have followed. Barry scored in Everton's opening-weekend victory over Crystal Palace, then struck a hat-trick in the League Cup win at Preston, and most recently netted the match-winner against Ipswich. "We worked on his finishing and he has come back flying," says Chickelday.

Off the ball, the numbers are equally encouraging. Barry ranks among the top five players in the Premier League this season for both counter pressures and high-speed pressing runs — a signal that his effort levels have never been in doubt, even during his darkest spells.

The mental game

Chickelday points to mindset as the critical battleground. "Talent gets you through the door. Confidence and mindset get you longevity and success," he explains. The model he invokes is telling: "It is the Harry Kane mindset. If you miss an opportunity, that has gone. It is on to the next one."

Barry, who is only 23, has moved through clubs in Belgium, Switzerland, Spain, and England in quick succession. He has now spent more time in Everton's first team than at any other club in his career. Chickelday describes him as one of the nicest people he has encountered — someone balancing the pressures of elite football with the arrival of a young baby and the daily demands of adapting to what is arguably the most demanding league in the world.

"He needs repetition, he knows he does," says Chickelday. "But he wants to do it. He still feels like he has got a lot to prove. It has just taken him that bit longer to find his feet."

What comes next

The work Chickelday and Barry do together is tailored specifically to the demands of a David Moyes system — focused on one-touch finishing inside the six-yard box and building the mental resilience to move past missed chances without letting them linger. "It is about resetting," Chickelday explains. "You have to back yourself."

With Everton's attacking options limited ahead of the January transfer window, the stage is set for Barry to press his claim as the club's main striker. After one of the most difficult periods of his young career, the signs point toward a player finding his way. "He was so low. But he pulled himself back up."