Jones has been a regular fixture in the Boro first team this season

Middlesbrough goalkeeper Brad Jones is eager to catch up with his former mentor Mark Schwarzer when Boro welcome Fulham to the Riverside on Saturday.

Jones, 27, worked with his fellow Australian on Teesside for eight years, before Schwarzer's move to Craven Cottage in May 2008.

"He was great to me the whole time he was here," Jones told BBC Tees.

"I learned so much from him on and off the pitch and he's been a major influence on me as a player."

Jones, who arrived on Teesside as a rookie, believes his biggest debt to the 36-year-old Schwarzer is the manner in which he was guided through his first few seasons at the club.

"I came over here that young that you don't know what the big bad world is going to throw at you, and he was the person who I spoke to most about things," said Jones.

"He gave me so much knowledge about different things and I owe a lot to him for how he helped me.

"He's still doing a good job at Fulham and I think he did a great job at Middlesbrough, to have 11 years at a club and to achieve the things he and the club achieved in that time."

An Australian international, Jones found breaking into the first team a tough task, but is now confident he is making an impression at the club alongside young keeper Ross Turnbull.

"When Mark left it gave me an opportunity, it was something I'd had in my mind - I didn't want to leave or walk away because of him," he said.

"This season has been difficult with injuries, but I've achieved something by being here for 10 years and finally getting a run in the team."

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