Middlesbrough's other Australian goalkeeper, Brad Jones, is back on track after early-season injuries threatened to stall his career.

Jones, 20, has set his sights on challenging Socceroo Mark Schwarzer and Welsh international Mark Crossley for a spot in Boro's first team - although he admits he's not in their class yet.

Jones, who joined Middlesbrough two years ago from Perth club Bayswater, has had two stints on the bench this season and says he has learnt a lot from his time in the squad.

"It was good to get another appearance on the bench and it's great experience for me to be part of the squad," Jones told the club website.

"The two of them (Schwarzer and Crossley) are good for me to look up to and see how far I can progress to become what they are.

"I'll be honest, at the moment I'm not quite there. But hopefully within the near future I'll reach their level.

"I was injured for a lot of the early part of this season but I feel I've come on well and things will keep getting better."

Jones kept a clean sheet for the Middlesbrough reserves team this week in a goalless draw against West Bromwich Albion, in which he was forced to make only one save.

"It's always nice to be able to have a save," he said.

"Unfortunately in the first half I didn't have one to make and I was freezing so it was nice to make one in the second half and feel I'd contributed to the team.

"Concentration is one of the hardest things for a keeper and normally the best keepers are the ones who keep concentrating for the full game."

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