CHERRIES' young gun Jason Pearce believes consistency will be the key to success following their Jekyll and Hyde start to the new season.

The 19-year-old has emerged as a real defensive find after turning in a series of assured displays during an indifferent opening to their league campaign.

Pearce, signed permanently from Portsmouth on the eve of the new season, has shown his versatility at both right and left-back in Cherries' first four games.

The teenager was rested for the Johnstone's Paint Trophy win over Walsall in midweek but will be eager to return when Cherries visit table-topping Leyton Orient tomorrow.

And Pearce is convinced a repeat of their impressive performances at Nottingham Forest and Doncaster will stand Cherries in good stead to check Orient's unbeaten league start.

He told the Daily Echo: "Orient have made a great start and it's going to be a very tough game for us. They are similar to us in many ways and it shows a club of that stature can be right up there.

"We will go there with a lot of confidence because our away form has been superb. We are confident but not complacent because we've got nothing to be complacent about.

"We played really well against Forest and Doncaster but then got kicked in the teeth by Huddersfield and Port Vale so it just shows how quickly things can turn.

"The win and performance against Walsall should give us great heart because everything came together on Tuesday. Our away form has been better than our home form but hopefully that was the start of something.

"We've done well away from home because we get players behind the ball, soak up the pressure and hit teams on the counter-attack. We went into our first two home games with that attitude but it didn't work.

"The manager told us that we needed to get into people's faces and show them that we're the home team. We did that on Tuesday and got our just rewards."

Pearce added: "We've taken four points from our first four games but really it's four points from two games. If we had taken points from our two home games, we would be right up there with Orient as well.

"It's important for us to maintain our away performances and turn around our home form. If we can do that over the next few weeks, we could be right in amongst it."

Pearce has experienced a whirlwind first month with Cherries, his signing in early August followed by his full league debut - in an unfamiliar right-back berth - at Nottingham Forest.

He then switched to left-back for Cherries' home curtain-raiser against Huddersfield before again lining up on the right against both Doncaster and Port Vale.

He added: "Everything has gone brilliantly for me. The manager asked me to play right-back and although it's not my favoured position, I'm more than happy to fill in for the team.

"I hope he thinks I've done well. I know I've got to fight for my place at left-back or centre-half but that's part and parcel of the game. I'm young and will learn from players playing ahead of me and hopefully I'll push them for a place."