ANDY Robinson severed his 13-year ties with Southampton and looked immediately towards challenging for a place in Dougie Freedman’s first team at Wanderers.

The 21-year-old was sworn-in as a new signing yesterday after spending a short time on loan from St Mary’s at the end of last season.

Robinson has been brought in to provide competition for holding midfielders such as Jay Spearing, Medo Kamara and Liam Trotter – and is determined to hit the ground running when the squad returns at the end of June.

“The move itself is a real positive for me – I’m not looking past pre-season at the moment, but I’m just determined to come back, work hard and hopefully stake my claim for a place in the first team,” he told the club.

“Everybody will return after the summer break keen to impress, so it is important to make sure that you perform at your best to prove your worth to the manager and I’ll be doing everything I can to show what I’m capable of.”

Robinson was named on the bench on a handful of occasions at the end of last season, and Dougie Freedman believes his pedigree with the Saints should make him an interesting addition to the squad. “He is a young kid who I believe has got a lot of talent,” he said.

“Because of the situation at Southampton, of them going up another level to push for the top six, young players may drop away.

“But I think this kid can become a good player.”