IT IS rare to find the opportunity at the highest level to experiment in low-pressure scenarios, but Cherries have afforded themselves this luxury by securing safety with four games to go.

No side ever wants to lose a game of football, let alone three in a row, but heading into the final day there is little at stake for Cherries, with their relegation-threatened hosts Everton wishing they could say the same.

Some fans will travel in trepidation to Merseyside following the poor showing at Crystal Palace in Cherries’ last away trip.

Confirmation of their top-flight status for a second season has allowed Gary O’Neil to take fewer risks, explaining the absences of players with minor knocks and injury issues in recent weeks.

Out of the 11 that started the Manchester United game, only three joined this season – by and large, it was players that earned promotion from the second tier last term that were tasked with competing with a side contesting for a spot in the Champions League.

Neither side truly impressed throughout the contest, the Red Devils having to repeatedly try their luck from range to produce their shots tally.

Restrictions enforced by availability aside, there remains the opportunity to innovate in terms of approach.

Of course, this is not pre-season and these are very much competitive games.

But despite losing their last three games, it would be harsh to suggest the playing squad’s minds are on the beach.

Some fans will point to the millions of pounds each position in the Premier League is worth to highlight what stakes remain.

O’Neil explained his thinking when this was put to him some weeks ago.

“I'm well aware of how important it is that we finish as high as possible,” he began.

“But there's probably £200million at stake next year for trying to stay up again as well.

“There are things that we can do now that can help us as we look at next season as well.

“Because of the work that the lads managed to do, we do come into the last few games of the season with less pressure on every result.

“So we can go into games, we can start to add things, maybe things that I've wanted to add that we haven't been able to because of the nature of the next game being another cup final and every point being so precious.”

For a head coach who has been constrained by short-term thinking for most of his reign, it is a welcome change of pace and arguably the first insight into what O’Neil’s tactical identity might be.

There has been little chance to implement a defined playing style. The first months of his head-coaching career were marked by the caveat that it could all be over quickly, the interim moniker only disappearing come the break for the World Cup in November.

Even the ‘mini pre-season' as it was described was not the ideal breeding grounds for a tactical identity. Illness impacted the camp, and January reinforcements were still a month away.

Injuries then further ravaged the squad, leaving their Premier League status in jeopardy.

Everything O’Neil, his coaching staff, and his players have done this season had to end up in one result – survival. How they got there was near inconsequential.

Now the long-term planning can start. Following confirmation of safety, a clause in O’Neil’s contract has automatically come into play, extending his current deal till the end of the 2024/25 season.

O’Neil has hinted that he would like to maintain possession more than his side have managed so far this season.

Cherries have proven proficient enough in punishing teams on the counter, but frequently they have hit proverbial brick walls in the form of opposition’s low blocks.

Too many times this season have sides been able to drop off and allow Cherries time on the ball, the south coast club seemingly unable to consistently unlock defences.

In fairness, most teams struggle to break down a low block, explaining why it is a common approach to defending. Cherries have certainly used some variation to defend their own goal at different times this season.

But extra possession does not directly equate to more goals – but it should correlate with increased control.

Rather than let the opposition dominate the ball, depleting Cherries’ energy reserves as they chase and harry, by maintaining possession, O’Neil’s charges themselves can exert more control upon a game.

The simple maxim of the other team being unable to score if you have the ball rings true more often than not.

Marcos Senesi has already shown his competence and confidence whilst in possession, the centre-back showing his credentials.

His long-range passing, akin to Lloyd Kelly, offers his side an outlet, but he is not afraid to stride forward with the ball, helping Cherries gain territory.

After shaking off rustiness and injury following his January move from Dynamo Kyiv, Illia Zabarnyi is demonstrating a similar aptitude to a more possession-heavy approach.

O’Neil has admitted he likes his side to build moves with three defenders at the base. In Senesi, Zabarnyi, and Kelly, he has three centre-backs that in their own way can serve as playmakers, at least in the opening stages of a move.

Under Scott Parker, Kelly became a lightning road for criticism as he was almost solely charged with constructing moves.

Fans may fear the second coming of ‘Parkerball’ but there is little to suggest that Cherries will return to death by a thousand cuts as their preferred method of scoring goals.

By adding variation to their attacking schemes, they become harder to predict, more versatile, and hopefully, much stronger as a result.

In a promoted side’s first season in the Premier League, a sensible and effective approach often must be implemented in order to secure survival.

O’Neil’s pragmatism has achieved this, but with a full pre-season, further backing in the transfer market, and confidence of a decent first season, there is an opportunity to find a proper identity.