SKIPPER Jason Pearce says Cherries will respect but not fear League One’s big guns.

Pearce is today set to lead Cherries into battle when they kick off their new campaign at Charlton, one of five former Premier League clubs now in the third tier.

The 22-year-old told the Daily Echo: “As a professional, you want to play against the big teams and there are lots of them in League One.

“I’m just relishing the opportunity to play against them and, hopefully, do well against them. Everyone in our changing room is of the same mind and we want to impress.

“You have got to respect them because they are big clubs with rich traditions. But we’re not a small club. We feel we’re going forward and there is no reason to fear anyone.”

Pearce, who replaced Danny Hollands as captain midway through last season, ended the campaign by leading Cherries to promotion.

He added: “The first aim when you come up from the league below must be to try to hold your own and stay in the division. We want to push higher though. We want to win as many games as we can and see where it takes us.

“The lads feel confident and we are confident in our own ability. We know we are going to be underdogs in a lot of games but we’ve got a good bunch, we all stick together and we know what we’re about.

“We want to win every game and we prepare to win every game. But you’ve got to be realistic because you’re not going to win every game. We always go out with a positive attitude and we’ve got a winning mentality from last season. There’s no reason why we can’t do well.”