HE WAS everywhere on Saturday, Ryan Christie.

Cherries picked up a vital three points in a must-win fixture at the King Power, Phil Billing's goal the difference between two relegation rivals.

Every time Cherries needed a bit of breathing room from Leicester, there was the Scot, popping ahead of his defender with the ball, earning a foul and a pause in play.

His running did not stop until the final whistle, Christie still trying to advance the ball and away from Cherries' goal when he skilfully knocked the ball past a Foxes defender before sprinting to keep the ball in play near the end of the 90 minutes.

Four times he won a foul – only Newcastle’s Bruno Guimaraes and Brighton’s Alexis Mac Allister were fouled more times at the weekend (five times each).

He posted on social media afterwards that he was “knackered”, and who could blame him.

At the weekend, only Brighton’s Pascal Gross covered more distance than Christie – and as a team, Cherries were only beaten for ground covered by Everton.

Asked about his defensive contributions against Leicester, Christie told the Daily Echo: “I think obviously in the Premier League, especially the kind of team we are - we're not right at the top, we're battling for survival- you're going to have to do that, no matter where you're playing on the pitch.

“I thought Tavs (Marcus Tavernier) when he came on was the same the other side, even Dom up front and Antoine when he came on.

“Everyone has to chip in defensively to keep teams out because everybody in this league has such a good attacking threat.”

Christie’s current role is a far cry from the creator-in-chief descriptor he earnt for his early performances under Scott Parker, building on reputation as a goal-contributor north of the border with Celtic.

Even before Parker was given his marching orders, the style in play had shifted.

In the Championship, Cherries would dominate the ball and play through Parker’s patterns. In the Premier League, they would not have this luxury.

Under Gary O’Neil the gameplan has become clearer – focusing on ‘regains’ and hurting teams on the transition, soaking up pressure to hit teams on the break.

But just as Cherries have had to adapt, so has Christie.

He has adapted to the Premier League, a new role, a new head coach, and most significantly, a new amount of playing time.

It is that ability to adapt that has seen Christie become the only player signed last season to remain prominent this campaign.

A few might have thought the writing was on the wall for the former Aberdeen and Inverness man after the January transfer window, Dango Ouattara thrown straight in to the starting XI.

Even before the World Cup and the influx of signings in similar positions, Christie had been dropped to the bench, still making frequent appearances but facing a severe reduction in gametime.

One thing Cherries’ recruitment has been is ruthless – little room for sentiment was shown in the two transfer windows following promotion from the Championship, a willingness to sign players in an attempt to strengthen the squad.

Out of the 15 arrivals during Cherries’ promotion season from the Championship, only two are currently registered to feature in the Premier League this term.

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James Hill aside, the England youth international clearly seen as a work in progress, three others are currently out on loan, their futures seemingly dependent on Cherries’ division next term.

The others, either loan signings themselves or free agents, have been largely forgotten about despite their varying levels of contribution to promotion.

Whilst not quite last man standing as Kieffer Moore is still available for selection, Christie remains a far more central figure in O’Neil’s plans than the target man striker.

Ouattara’s energy and attacking intent won over fans in his first appearances for Cherries, but subsequent performances have left a lot to be desired.

As his attacking contributions have dwindled, his defensive frailties have become too much to keep him on the right wing.

At Aston Villa, he was deployed as a quasi-right wing-back, his pace a tool to deal with Alex Moreno, the Villan’s left wing-back.

That did not work, and in the subsequent game against Fulham, Ouattara again stood out as he struggled to follow instructions, O’Neil constantly bellowing his name in a bid for him to better track his man.

Fulham enjoyed plenty of joy down their left-flank, Cherries’ right, and they looked comfortable heading into half time.

Replaced at the break by Christie, Cherries turned a 1-0 deficit into a 2-1 win, fellow half-time sub Marcus Tavernier hailed as the game changer but the overall team performance far improved.

When defending, Cherries generally settle in to a system of 4-4-2 – two banks of four, the defence and the midfield, with the spare midfielder joining the striker in the frontline press.

At the moment, when in possession, Lloyd Kelly will tuck in to become an auxiliary centre-back, allowing Adam Smith to get forward. This has been inversed at times this season, with Jordan Zemura given licence down the left and Smith tucking in to form a back three.

But currently the main risk if a Cherries attack breaks down is the fact that Smith is more likely to be caught out than Kelly, causing the need for more support from his winger.

That explains why Christie has pushed Ouattara to the other flank, the Scot more trusted for the task at hand.

Debate whether fasting for Ramadan has taken its toll on the Burkinabe aside, Christie’s recent performances should comfortably see him keep the right-wing spot for some time, irrespective of Ouattara’s struggles on the other flank.

Compared to his contemporaries on the wing in the Premier League this campaign, the Scot is in the 99th percentile for interceptions made (1.57 per game), 89th for successful tackles (1.93 per game), and 93rd for clearances (0.93 per game).

When those above stats are compared to all players in the division, he remains high up the list – 87th percentile for interceptions, 76th for tackles, and when he competes in a ground duel as a defender, he is in the 90th percentile.

Whilst he is not the creative force he was in the Championship, he still has the ability to beat his man – he is in the 92nd percentile league-wide for successful dribbles.

There was a reason why O‘Neil came out and said the diminutive winger was “unfortunate” to have his game time restricted, Cherries’ head coach stressing how hard Christie worked on the training ground.

Apart from diligence and defensive nous, the Scot also provides versatility – capable of playing on the wing, he has also been entrusted with replacing Phil Billing as the more-advanced central midfielder.

In a relegation battle, you need patience, hard work, and adaptability, and Ryan Christie has all three in spades.