Oxford United manager Karl Robinson has insisted that he is still under a long-term contract with the League One club as he played down speculation of any potential West Brom interest.

Robinson worked with Sam Allardyce as a coach when he was in charge of Blackburn Rovers, and the former England manager has recently hailed the work that the Oxford boss has done with the club in the English third tier in the last two seasons. The departing West Brom manager has also revealed that he has informed the Baggies’ hierarchy over who he thinks is the best fit for the job.

There has been some speculation that Robinson could be a potential contender for the vacant position at the Hawthorns this summer. That comes with Oxford having missed out on a place in the play-off final for a second successive season after they were beaten by Blackpool in their League One play-off semi-finals.

Speaking to the Oxford Mail, Robinson insisted that he is still under a long contract with the Us and that he did not have the energy to talk about speculation linking him with the West Brom position.

He said: “It’s probably because me and Sam worked together for two years.

“I don’t really have the energy to talk about any other job.

“I’ve got a long-term contract here.”

The verdict

You can understand why Robinson is being linked with getting the chance to move to a club like West Brom given the good work he has been doing with Oxford in the third tier in the last two seasons. To achieve back-to-back top-six finishes in League One amongst everything else that has been going on in the last 12-months over so is something that should not be ignored.

However, Robinson does remain under contract until 2024 and he appears to be wanting to really build something with the Us and take the club to that next level. There will be some rebuilding to do in the summer as always, but the Us are not a million miles away from being able to earn promotion to the Championship, and if he can take the club up then he will be hailed for his work.

West Brom themselves are being more heavily linked with managers such as Chris Wilder and Valerien Ismael. Therefore, them moving for Robinson always seemed like it would be unlikely despite the speculation. This one for now has perhaps been put to bed then. That hopefully means the Oxford boss can concentrate his efforts on how to take them up next season.