Eddie Howe is demanding that his Bournemouth players retain their fighting spirit so they can remain in the Premier League beyond this season.

The Cherries are still unbeaten after three games in this campaign. And they had to come from behind to draw 2-2 against ten-man Everton at home.

Howe knows that it will be a long and tough season for his side, given the quality of teams throughout the league.

But he backs his players to do what is necessary to avoid relegation. And he praised their ability to come back from behind in games.

He said to the Daily Echo: "When you are behind, it is very difficult to come back and you have to get a lot right.

"To chase a game, you leave yourself open to counter-attacks. You have to really commit to believing you can do it, so we did show a lot of steel and determination.

"That's really good from a mental perspective – it shows we are never out of a game. That's a great quality to have.

"Certainly, we don't want to put ourselves in that situation continually because we know against the better teams it's harder to come back. But we will certainly take today's comeback.

"We are looking to take the initiative and win games from the moment they kick off.

"When we are at our best, we are very much on the front foot and very aggressive. It's not like we are sitting back, waiting to concede and then we'll attack.

"These things have just happened. When we go behind I hope they keep happening but of course we have to be more ruthless when we are at 0-0.

"This league is so tough that any chance you have to get a point or three points, you have to try to maximise it.

"There are a lot of tough games ahead so this could be a crucial point for us.