AUSSIE duo Mark Schwarzer and Paul Okon have been given international clearance to stick with Middlesbrough throughout their relegation fight.

The Socceroos have told players plying their trade abroad that they can skip the start of the World Cup qualifiers in April.

Keeper Schwarzer and midfielder Okon are key men for club and country.

Schwarzer revealed: "There aren't any more games until April when the World Cup qualifiers start.

"That's the initial stage where they're not going to call up any of the players who are overseas. It's going to be players who aren't playing regularly. Then, in the whole of June, we'll be tied up with internationals.''

Schwarzer has set his sights on winning back Australia's No 1 spot from Manchester United's Mark Bosnich. "I want to play for the national side as much as I can,'' said Schwarzer, who lost his place when Boro coach Terry Venables was in charge of the Aussies.

"I don't want to go with the national side and be on the bench. But there are three, four, or five other keepers who want to do the same.

"When Terry was with Australia he picked me initially, but I pulled out of one of the games because of commitments to Middlesbrough in a League Cup semi-final and after that I wasn't selected any more.

"He picked Mark, as was always going to be the case, and he elected to pick two other keepers for the squad. But I still want to be No 1 for my country. If you play week-in, week-out with your club side, you would hope to have a good chance of playing for your national side.''

Schwarzer did his chances no harm when he kept his fourth clean sheet in six games for Boro in Monday's FA Cup third-round win against former club Bradford City.

Boro had failed to register a clean sheet all season under manager Bryan Robson until Venables took charge and launched an unbeaten six-match run.

"We've worked really hard in training defensively and turned things around,'' said Schwarzer. "A lot of players didn't know what they were doing at times and Terry has come in and worked on more organisation.

"It's not just the back four or back five. We're defending as a team - all 11 players.''

Boro have let in only two goals in the last half-dozen games - a spectacular own goal by Noel Whelan against Coventry and a controversial Robbie Keane penalty for Leeds.

"We're happy with another clean sheet,'' said Schwarzer. "In the last six games, one goal conceded was scored by us and one was a penalty!

"It's nice for me to have gone back to my old club and won. We're just glad to get the tie over with rather than have a replay.

"We want to concentrate on the league and the home game against Derby on Saturday is massively important for us.''

Venables, meanwhile, lavished more praise on the talismanic Okon. Boro's unbeaten run has coincided with Okon's return after a near-four-month lay-off with a broken foot.

Okon, 28, was signed by Robson on a Bosman free from Fiorentina last summer and Venables said: "He's a very good player. We're trying to improve our passing and keeping the ball and he's helping us do that.''

l Patrick Vieira has received an apology from Carlisle midfielder Richard Prokas after his two-footed lunge on the Arsenal star last Saturday.

Referee Steve Lodge yesterday admitted he would have dismissed Prokas had he clearly seen the incident during the third-round tie at Brunton Park.

Now the 24-year-old has accepted responsibility for his mistimed challenge, which broke Vieira's shinguard and left Gunners boss Arsene Wenger incensed.

A statement said: ''Richard Prokas would like to publicly state that he regrets the incident last Saturday and certainly did not intend to injure Patrick Vieira."