PAUL INCE has fired a defiant message to Steve McClaren, vowing to play on at the highest level for another two years regardless of whether he has a future with Middlesbrough.

Manager McClaren has admitted that contract talks with skipper Ince have reached a "stand-off" until Boro's fate is known as they battle to secure their Premiership status.

Former England midfielder Ince, whose current deal runs out this summer, wants a new two-year agreement.

But Boro, mindful that Ince will be 35 in October, are understood to be loath to offer anything more than a 12-month extension.

Ince, signed by Bryan Robson from Liverpool in a bargain £1m deal nearly three years ago, insists he has nothing to prove after a career which has also encompassed spells with West Ham, Manchester United, Inter Milan and Liverpool - and 53 appearances for his country.

"I haven't got to prove myself to anyone," said Ince. "You just have to look at my CV.

"It's a case of sitting down and talking and if the club offer the right deal, I'll sign. If they don't, I won't. That's the bottom line.

"I think I've got a couple of years left, maximum. If things are right, of course I would like those two years to be with Middlesbrough.

"I've got a great rapport with the fans and the lads are fantastic.

"No disrespect, but the last thing I want to start doing is dropping down to the First and Second Divisions.

"I still feel good and I'm playing well. As you get older, you use your experience and pick your runs in games.

"I don't feel that my legs are going - the day I do, I'll jack the game in.

"I believe this club is going places. We're building something here and I'd like to be part of it for the next two years, but that's not up to me. It's up to them upstairs.

"The main priority is to get this club safe, but I want my situation resolving four or five weeks before the end of the season, so I know what I'm doing.

"Whatever happens, I've had three great years here and I've enjoyed it."

Ince hinted that former Boro teammate Paul Gascoigne, destined to leave Everton and linked with Burnley, had suggested they team up again at Turf Moor.

"I might even have to go to Burnley and join Gazza," laughed Ince. "We had a good partnership with England, but I don't think it would quite work at Burnley!"

However, McClaren said: "I most definitely want Paul to stay. I hope something can be worked out."

Ince admitted that McClaren, part-time coach under England boss Sven-Goran Eriksson, has established a better Boro infrastructure than predecessor Robson.

"It's definitely the best set-up we've had in my time here," said Ince.

"People say what an exciting team it was when this club had Fabrizio Ravanelli and Juninho - but that side went down.

"I don't think we now have the best team, but I think it's the most organised and we all believe we can see some light at the end of the tunnel.

"It was a hard start for the gaffer, losing his first four games, but he's coped pretty well.

"He isn't one to rant and rave. He remained cool and calm and he knows he can't make things happen in one season.

"But he's made us hard to beat and if that keeps us in the Premiership, then he's done his job for the first year. If he gets a few quid, he might be able to build on that."

Fresh from their 3-0 FA Cup quarter-final triumph over Everton and Gazza at the Riverside last Sunday, Boro entertain Merseyside opposition again today as Ince faces ex-employers Liverpool.

When he left Anfield, Ince accused managerial duo Gerard Houllier and Phil Thompson of forcing him out and treating him "like dirt".

He also said he hoped they "would be sacked".

But with Houllier having just returned to work on a part-time basis after five months recuperating from life-saving heart surgery, Ince stressed: "It's nice that he's on the road to recovery. That's the important thing, football comes second.

"The lads there have done all right since he's been away and Phil Thompson has a done a great job.

"They're still in with a shout of getting into the quarter-finals of the Champions' League and they've got a chance of winning the Premiership.

"I think they've got an easier run-in than the rest and they've got a really good chance, but it will go to the wire, as I'm sure the relegation battle will."

With a visit to leaders Manchester United looming in seven days, Ince knows Boro face searching examinations against two of his former clubs.

"It's the wrong time to be playing top sides, but I'd rather play them now than the last two games of the season when we might need something," said Ince.

"It's still imperative we get something from these two games. It'll be hard against Liverpool, but it's going to be twice as hard at Manchester United."

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