Bournemouth captain Jason Pearce is remaining cool over speculation linking him with a move to Middlesbrough. Championship outfit Boro are thought to be interested as manager Gordon Strachan ponders strengthening his defence after a frustrating start to the season.

However, the former Portsmouth youngster, now 22, has told skysports.com that he is focused on helping Bournemouth establish themselves in League One.

"I've not heard anything about any type of interest in me to be honest and I'm not sure what to make of it because there is a lot of paper talk around this time of year and most of it is purely speculation anyway," he explained.

"It is always nice to hear big clubs being linked with you in the papers, but I prefer to concentrate on doing well for Bournemouth."