Schwarzer encouraged to extend his ten-year stay

6:01am Saturday 24th February 2007

THE tenth anniversary of Mark Schwarzer's arrival at Middlesbrough was on Thursday, just as speculation surrounding his future surfaced following a break up with his long-term agent.

Despite ending a ten-year association with Barry Silkman, Boro boss Gareth Southgate last night paid tribute to the Aussie goalkeeper's loyalty.

Southgate, who only became a team-mate four years into Schwarzer's Teesside career, is aware of apparent interest from German champions Bayern Munich, but is only receiving positive vibes from his No 1.

The 34-year-old has 18 months left on his contract and is still regarded by the Middlesbrough boss as one of the best keepers in the Premiership.

More pertinently, Southgate does not feel Schwarzer wants to go anywhere after entering his testimonial year, a decade after joining from Bradford City.

"I sense he is still happy at Middlesbrough," said Southgate.

"He is enjoying football with us and he values Paul Barron's (goalkeeping coach) coaching. Of course, you never assume they are with you forever. I am sure there have been times when he has thought of moving on but he hasn't and we are delighted. It is up to us to satisfy his ambitions.

"Ten years is a sign of his character. He's a loyal guy and has a very stable family, who are very important to him. He thinks seriously about his decisions but would not have had any qualms about moving if he did not think the club was progressing, or wasn't improving.

"He is still very driven and wants to stay as Aussie No 1 through to next World Cup, so the next three years are very important to him."

While reports focused on his possible departure during the week, Schwarzer was more keen to erase the memory of last Saturday from his mind.

He was to blame for Diomansy Kamara's first-half equaliser in the FA Cup fifth-round tie with West Brom, just a few days after his penalty-saving heroics helped his side through against Bristol City.

"The first thing he wanted to do was come in earlier than everyone else after last week's mistake," said Southgate. "He thrives on working hard. He was more disappointed in himself than we were in him last week.

"His reaction is always to look at himself first and work hard to put things right, but we have said he has never let us down."

Schwarzer's contract situation is not on Southgate's list of priorities, unlike those of Mark Viduka and Abel Xavier, with the manager claiming he is 'expecting things to happen over the next few weeks'.

January signing Dong Gook Lee, fresh from his first 45 minutes for the reserves on Thursday night, is likely to figure on the bench today.

It is a couple of weeks since Lee arrived from Pohang Steelers on a free transfer and Southgate feels the South Korean is ready to step up and compete with Ayegbeni Yakubu and Viduka for a starting place.

"Lee has settled well, although he has found training a bit different," said Southgate, who will not be looking to alter a forward line that has contributed to a Premiership run of just one defeat since the turn of the year.

"The style may be different but he can look after himself, he is brave enough. He looked sharp on Thursday and has been good in training. Now we need to get some football into him and he is in the squad."

Today's visit of Reading will be an opportunity for Middlesbrough to show how far they have come under Southgate since the opening day of the season. After a bright start in which Boro took a two-goal lead, the Royals grabbed three goals inside 12 minutes to start their first season in the Premiership with a win.

It reminded Southgate just how capable Steve Coppell, his first manager during his days at Crystal Palace, is of motivating his players.

"He will find his name thrust forward for big jobs but I'm sure he is looking to take Reading to the next stage," said Southgate.