Farina issues Okon warning

The 30-year-old has yet to make an appearance for Premiership outfit Leeds United, after being snapped-up by former SocceRoos coach Terry Venables for free in the summer.

With places in Farina's (pictured) up and coming squad harder and harder to come by, as Australia progress up Fifa's world rankings, Okon now knows he needs to stake his claim quickly to avoid being frozen out.

"They are all putting pressure on and, at his age, Paul needs to be playing regularly," said Farina.

"He is struggling, and I need to have a good look at his situation."

Meanwhile, United could be set for an Italian job, after reports speculated Uefa could switch the club's Uefa Cup away leg match against Hapoel Tel Aviv to Florence.

The city is without a top flight side, since the demise of former Serie A giants Fiorentina, and the Artemio Franchi's capacity of over 45,000 would be more than adequate to stage the tie.

Although Sofia has been mentioned as a possible venue to host the clash on November 14, United were keen not to travel to Bulgaria due to concerns over racism the players might be subjected to.