Ronald Koeman's appointment as Everton manager in June brought much scepticism upon the decision from many media outlets. His stint at Southampton proved to be rather successful and his doubters were unsure whether he could achieve the same level of success at Everton - a much bigger club.

Currently Everton are enjoying their best start to a season since 1978 with the club lying second in the Premier League behind Manchester City. After the troubles of last season, the Everton faithful have begun dreaming of imminent success under the former Dutch international with the team's performances having improved all round.

The form of Everton may come as a surprise to many but his arrival at Goodison Park has seen a number of the squad's players performance levels improve with their full potential there for all to see. Koeman has instilled a winning mentality at the Merseyside club and has a clear belief that Everton have spent the past few years underachieving and now must take advantage of their squad depth and challenge for European places.

Key players such as John Stones and Romelu Lukaku became uncertain with the club's direction last season and both considered moves away from Goodison Park. Stones departed for Manchester City but Lukaku opted to remain at Everton following Koeman's appointment. The Belgian has been in brilliant form ever since.

Gareth Barry, Phil Jagielka and Leighton Baines were all suffering under former boss Roberto Martinez's weak defensive style. Koeman has identified the trio as the key to Everton's experience and believes they can blend the youthful side into one of the league's strongest sides. 35-year-old Gareth Barry has starred so far this season with two goals from midfield and appears to be enjoying a new lease of life in a central role when he was ousted by Martinez last season.

Koeman's approach with the players has radically changed from what they may have been used to in previous seasons. Small things, but crucial to what Koeman stands for have been implemented by the Dutchman such as the use of mobile phones on match-days, wearing of head accessories and most importantly time-keeping within the club.

It's not just off the pitch Koeman is taking his hard-line approach as on the field he holds no punches. When the club were trailing 1-0 to West Brom away in August, key player James McCarthy was substituted off and a change of system swiftly followed. Lukaku replaced the Republic of Ireland international and was a major cause in Everton's two goals to secure the victory for the Evertonian faithful.

Difficult decisions have been implemented but key signings in the right areas have also aided Everton this season. When John Stones left for Manchester City many fans were concerned regarding the club's direction. 32 year-old Ashley Williams was prized away from Swansea and his leadership at the back has seen Everton's leaky defence turn into a solid unit.

Under Martinez, Everton failed to strengthen in defence or focus on the back - which proved their achilles heel. Phil Jagielka, Ashley Williams and Marten Stekelenburg have become a solid structure this season with just three goals conceded in five games due to the priority being defence rather than attack from his defenders. The work of Koeman is definitely clear for all to see.

Everton conceded the most goals in the last few minutes of games last season due to poor fitness levels. From the moment he arrived on July 1st it was clear to see the poor fitness levels implemented by the previous manager. The first-team squad were recalled from their holiday more than a week earlier than originally planned.

Fitness became Koeman's priority as he quickly identified that the club would not last the pace of the Premier League with players in such physical condition. Big players such as Kevin Mirallas lost six kilos as the club took a new approach to training before attempting to implement a game-plan and style of play.

His style of play was finally considered as Everton made late movements in the transfer market. Idrissa Gueye was signed from Aston Villa to add the necessary steel in midfield to protect his back-four from counter attacks.

More surprisingly Yannick Bolasie was signed for £24million from Crystal Palace with many fans, and even the media, stunned at the decision. Bolasie has started to prove his worth with some sensational performances already this season and provides a great danger on the counter attack with his sprinter-like pace. The winger has been heavily criticised by many for his lack of clinical performances but under Koeman he has shown why the Dutchman was keen to secure his services.

Just four first-team signings this summer under Koeman has enabled him to establish the perfect balance between defence and attack - something Roberto Martinez was not able to create since his first season at Goodison Park. Squad players such as Ross Barkley and Kevin Mirallas have been pivotal to Everton's start to the campaign after they spent the majority of last season frozen out by Martinez.

While many will discuss Everton's failing to complete deals for players like Lamina Kone and Axel Witsel at the end of the window, Koeman's best performance has been the regeneration of a good squad of players who are now achieving their potential. It didn't take the work of a genius to fix Everton's woes but it now looks like a few crucial changes have now provided Everton with a platform to forget last season's worries and challenge at the high end of the table once again. Koeman's appointment may prove to be the success story of the season because his 'no nonsense' approach has proved to be Everton's crucial success factor.