Howe has challenged his fringe players to prove themselves in the remaining weeks of the season.
He said: "I don't look at it like that. We have a squad to pick from, of course, but everyone is on an equal level and everyone is waiting for that opportunity to prove that they should be in the team and at different times, they either prove that or they don't."
Advertisement
Advertisement
Howe added: "We've saw hopefully the emergence of Elliot (Anderson) into what we've all thought for a long time, that he's an outstanding player.
"He will be a very, very good player for us not just short-term, but long-term, and the same could be said for other players as well."