Baines proud to take Toffees armband whenever he can

The left-back pulled it on for Wednesday night’s game with Stoke City, but knows it is a rarity while second in line to the captaincy.

Everton drew the game 1-1 at the bet365 Stadium, but had the referee to thank after he overruled the linesman’s initial decision to chalk off their equaliser for offside.

The Toffees sit seventh in the Premier League, five points shy of Manchester United in sixth, and Baines is expecting another tough game when they host Bournemouth on Saturday.

“It is always an honour and a privilege to be asked,” said the 32-year-old. “I know that it will be Jags [Phil Jagielka] if he’s playing or if he’s not and Gareth [Barry] is, then it will be him. But if I’m selected it is always a nice moment for myself.

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“The result’s not bad, just so long as we can build on it at the weekend. Four points from the two games wouldn’t be too bad. It keeps our little run and the momentum going.

“It will be an entirely different proposition [against Bournemouth] but every game is like that. You’ve got different profiles for teams, different players but we have started our preparations.

“We will get in, do our recovery and get ourselves ready for the game. As I say, hopefully we can add to a decent point with a win.”