EVERTON boss Sean Dyche has played down claims that his side’s clash with Cherries this weekend is a “must-win game”, stating that all games carry the same weight.

Cherries travel to Merseyside without a win in their first seven Premier League fixtures, sitting on three points thanks to draws against West Ham, Brentford, and Chelsea.

The Toffees are a point above Andoni Iraola’s charges, mainly thanks to a victory away at Brentford, but their home record should give Cherries hope, Everton having lost four times at Goodison Park to begin the campaign.

It was not until their fourth fixture at home that Toffees were able to score, Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s strike proving scant consolation in a 2-1 defeat by Luton Town, the Hatters’ first in the Premier League.

This fixture has previously been billed as a must-win for the hosts, Everton nervously defeating Cherries in the last meeting that served as a do-or-die match on the final day of the previous campaign.

Abdoulaye Doucoure’s strike separated the two sides, a 1-0 win enough for Toffees to preserve their Premier League status.

Asked if he felt Saturday’s game was must-win, Dyche responded: “I've heard that so many times since I've been at this club, to be honest.

"In my view, every game is a must-win, that’s the way I like to think about football.

“But virtually ever since I’ve been here it’s been talked about every game is a must-win.

“It’s the reality of my job as a manager, I’ve been in it long enough now. As a player, I’ve been in it all my life, I’ve been in football all my life, and a manager, 10, pushing 11 years. Going over 500 games the other week.

“So, you want the pressure to be a different one. You want it to be at the top, when you’re winning, the pressure comes constantly, performing and winning games. Sometimes it’s the reverse pressure, when its hard yards.

“These are hard yards, and when you’re looking for them results, you’re looking to define the thing that is the last thing to click to make it work when you do win games. But that’s part and parcel of it.

“I think without it, you’d be in the wrong industry if you were a football manager. That’s a constant pressure in football management, and for players – slightly different, but it’s a constant.

“You have to get used to managing it in yourself, not just with the team and the group around you, the fans.

“Your own way of working – I just try to find a calmness to make sure I stay focused on the job at hand.”