RAY PARLOUR believes Middlesbrough winger Stewart Downing is the first of many highly-rated home-grown talents at the Riverside who will ride on a conveyor belt to international honours.

Parlour is well positioned to claim that Boro are grooming a long line of future England stars, having spent over a decade with Premiership champions Arsenal.

The former Highbury midfielder earned ten caps for his country during his time in north London and has been amazed by the young talent coming through the Boro ranks.

Parlour arrived in the summer and has been able to witness the dazzling wing play of Downing on the left flank at first hand - form which led to the 20-year-old making his England debut six days ago.

There have also been outstanding Middlesbrough displays from Darlington-born James Morrison on the opposite flank, both domestically and in Europe.

Full back Tony McMahon has ensured that manager Steve McClaren has not been left short when both Michael Reiziger and Stuart Parnaby have had time on the sidelines.

Middlesbrough's success in the FA Youth Cup last season also suggests there will be more teenagers to come through and four other members of that team - Matthew Bates, Gary Liddle, Jason Kennedy and David Knight - have also signed professional terms.

Parlour was one of the fortunate local ones to make the grade at Arsenal after being spotted during his youth at Romford.

He believes that Middlesbrough's respected Academy is a sure sign that more England honours will come calling to the Teesside club.

"Stewart Downing made his England debut and did really well, he deserved his chance. It was great to see him in there and I'm sure James Morrison, if he plays like he has been doing, will be in there in years to come," said Parlour.

"They have been great. I've been very impressed with the youth system - they have very good homegrown talents here. James has done well and Tony McMahon has also been unlucky not to be in the team.

"This club is honourable to their youngsters and as well as the ones I have mentioned there are players like Danny Graham and Andrew Davies coming along nicely.

"They all have a great attitude here. If they have good attitudes then that's half the battle. The likes of Tony and James made their debuts at Old Trafford earlier in the season and coped with it - that showed how good their attitudes are. They will get more mature and they will become better players with it."

Parlour also feels the next generation can benefit from his years in the game through him becoming a father figure on the training field.

The former Gunner is just one of a clutch of 30-somethings in the Middlesbrough squad and he feels that they all have a part to play in the development of the club's teenagers.

"I have got players like Stewart and James playing alongside me and I try to tell them different things during games because they are still learning," said the 31-year-old.

"It's important that wingers get back into position and you can lack that when you are young. They are all willing to listen and it's up to me to help them. Sometimes Gareth Southgate can't boss everyone from the back. I've enjoyed helping the young kids and it's nice that they ask you for advice."

Eyebrows were raised by many when Parlour decided to turn his back on the success-laden Arsenal squad in favour of joining McClaren's Boro revolution.

But, as Middlesbrough prepare to fly out to Austria tomorrow morning ahead of Thursday's UEFA Cup first leg with Grazer AK, the midfielder is still relishing the prospect of trying to help his employers qualify for Europe again.

"People said to me the weather would be different in the North-East but I think it's been very mild over the winter," said Parlour, who will be back in the side in Graz along with Bolo Zenden after both served domestic suspensions on Saturday at Bolton.

"People thought I wouldn't leave Arsenal because I really enjoyed myself there. But it was just time for a change and I have enjoyed the area, the people and it's a nice part of the country to be living in. I'm glad I did it.

"Things are going well here and I'm pleased I will be back in action on Thursday."

* Jay-Jay Okocha is targeting the FA Cup as Bolton's best chance of European qualification.

Sam Allardyce's side are battling to reach the UEFA Cup and could still secure a place with a high finish in the Barclays Premiership.

They host Fulham in the Cup on Saturday and captain Okocha is quietly confident a quarter-final place can be secured.

''Every match in the competition is like a final but luckily for us we've got home advantage,'' he said. "I've got an eye on the FA Cup and we've got every possibility to go for it."

Read more about Middlesbrough here.