LAURENT Robert last night warned Newcastle boss Graeme Souness his best was still to come after he finally called time on his troubled St James' Park career.

Robert signed a three-year deal at Fratton Park yesterday evening following hours of intensive negotiations with Pompey boss Alain Perrin and chief executive Peter Storrie.

The south coast club have agreed an undisclosed fee with the Magpies, understood to be £2m, and beaten off competition from Premiership rivals Bolton to secure his services.

Robert's departure was on the cards from the minute Souness walked into St James' Park last September. The volatile Frenchman infuriated Sir Bobby Robson, but the former Magpies manager was willing to tolerate some of his excesses in order to benefit from his unquestionable quality on the ball.

Souness was not as understanding and, after a series of high-profile disputes, the pair became embroiled in an angry war of words on the eve of Newcastle's UEFA Cup quarter-final in Lisbon.

That led to an irretrievable breakdown in their relationship, with Robert claiming his manager did not want him on the field and refused to discuss tactics prior to his regular substitute appearances.

The 30-year-old is looking forward to proving Souness wrong at Fratton Park and has promised Pompey officials his best years are still ahead of him now that he has rediscovered his relish for the game.

"Talking to Laurent at length today, one thing he kept constantly saying was that people had not yet seen the best of him," revealed Storrie, who also claimed Portsmouth would be making at least five more signings before the start of the new campaign.

"Hopefully that's an exciting time for Portsmouth fans.

"Let's not deny he's got some fantastic talent, and I think he's going to be a real star down at Fratton Park.

"We're not interested in what has happened in the past - he's a quality player.

"We were in there first and we've been discussing it as an option for a while, so I wasn't too concerned with (competition from) Bolton because I knew we were a little bit ahead of the game.

"There's been lots of discussions and (yesterday) we got it done."

Robert is the fourth former Newcastle player to have joined Portsmouth in recent times following last year's signings of Andy Griffin and Lomana LuaLua and this month's capture of centre-half Andy O'Brien.

The volatile 30-year-old, who cost Newcastle £9.5m when he moved from Paris St Germain in August 2001, jetted back to England from his native Reunion Island yesterday morning.

His representatives talked terms with Bolton boss Sam Allardyce at the end of last week, but the Trotters boss' refusal to offer anything more than a two-year deal scuppered any chance of a move to the Reebok Stadium.

That left the way open for a new approach from Portsmouth, with Perrin wasting no time in presenting his case.

The Pompey manager was quick to stress the pair's French links in order to land his number one target, with Storrie confirming Perrin's coaching experience played a crucial role in persuading Robert to put pen to paper.

"Alain's a top-quality coach and I think that helped greatly," he said.

"Alain had lots of discussions with Laurent and I think he was very comfortable about how he sees his future here at the club."

Earlier in the day, Perrin had claimed: "I think it is better for him working for a French coach. That's a good connection we have together."

Robert might not be the only player leaving Tyneside this week, as unsettled midfielder Lee Bowyer is also expected to finalise his future plans before the weekend.

Birmingham officials are confident of taking the controversial midfielder to St Andrew's after discussing a possible move with him yesterday.

Bowyer, who has been told he is surplus to requirements on Tyneside, is understood to have been offered £45,000-a-week provided Birmingham can negotiate his release from Newcastle for a fee of no more than £500,000.

Birmingham chairman David Gold has watched manager Steve Bruce handle hot-headed teenager Jermaine Pennant and is confident the former Manchester United defender can get the best out of Bowyer, despite the midfielder's much-publicised problems.

"Lee Bowyer's record speaks for itself and we know that Steve Bruce is special in getting the best out of players with his man-management skills," said Gold.

"He has shown that on so many occasions."

Newcastle officials are also working on an incoming deal, having spent yesterday discussing personal terms with representatives of Chelsea midfielder Scott Parker.

The England international is expected to complete a medical on Tyneside later today after Chelsea accepted the Magpies' offer of £6.5m earlier this week.

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