PAUL Robinson has reassured Wanderers fans that his transfer from West Brom is a loan deal in name only.

The full-back clarified his situation to The Bolton News yesterday, after linking up with his new team-mates at their training base in Austria.

Robinson was upset to see his switch to the North West had been classified as a season-long loan deal and quickly moved to set the record straight.

“I have signed a three-year contract, simple as that,” he said. “The 12-month loan deal was simply helping West Brom out for tax reasons.

“It was a bit difficult for my family to read that I was only on loan, so I wanted to clear up any doubt — I consider myself a Bolton Wanderers player on a three-year deal.”

Wanderers have agreed to pay around £1million for the former England Under-21 defender, although the money will not be paid until next season, giving the Baggies a 12-month tax break on the fee. Robinson was relegated with West Brom last season, playing 35 league games, and arrived on Sunday to provide direct competition for Jlloyd Samuel on the left side of defence.

It is the second time that Gary Megson has signed the 30-year-old, having initially taken him to the Hawthorns in 2003.

The deal has been somewhat of a slow burner but Robinson is determined to make up for lost time.

“It has been going on for a while now but now I’m here, I’ve got my head down to get stuck in with the hard work we’re doing over here in Austria,” he said.

“The gaffer being here was a massive part of me joining the club but so was the quality of the squad I’ll be joining. I wanted to play my football in a winning team.”

Robinson spent six years at West Brom, twice helping them to promotion from the Championship into the Premier League.

But while the Baggies earned praise for the style of their football last season, the defender admits the side often lacked an end product.

“It was a difficult decision to leave West Brom because the club had been such a big part of my life,” he said. “But the Premier League is where I want to be playing until my legs pack up and tell me to call it a day.

“Last year I was supported by quality players and some of the football West Brom played at times was magnificent. But sometimes it is about getting results and I feel I have joined a club that can dig them out, and that means they won’t struggle.

“I was involved with some great people at West Brom but some were happy with going up and down between the Premier League and the Championship, and I was not.”