JUSSI Jaaskelainen is confident last season's struggle against the drop was simply a blip.

Having seen both highs and lows over nearly 11 years at the Reebok, the Finn keeper is in a good position to judge the current strength of Gary Megson's squad.

It was enough to convince the 33-year-old to sign a new deal on Tuesday which will extend his stay by a further four years and perhaps put him in sight of another goalkeeping legend - the club's all-time leading appearance maker, Eddie Hopkinson.

And as he prepares to enter into what could be the final stretch of his Bolton tenure, Jaaskelainen is sure his team-mates will avoid making the same mistakes as they did last season, when a poor start meant playing catch-up for the rest of the campaign.

"Last season was disappointing," he admitted. "The way we started the season was abysmal, and we only got five points from the first 10 games.

"The first 10 games are so important to every season - it's important that we get off to a good start. The manager has made some good signings and I'm confident that we'll start strongly.

"I think that Bolton belongs in the Premier League and I'm confident that last season was just a one-year hiccup."

In over a decade at the club, Jaaskelainen has gone from a virtual unknown to one of the Premier League's most sought-after keepers.

The list of clubs said to be interested in luring him away from Bolton grew longer as his contract got closer to expiring over the summer - but although the keeper remained quiet behind the scenes, he insists his mind was made up to stay.

"Things are going very well for me inside and outside of the football club," he said.

"After the last game of the season the chairman came to me and said we can start talking and everything was sorted in two weeks. In my mind, there was never a doubt but there's always speculation - that's part of football."

Jaaskelainen's back injury sustained at Liverpool meant he was forced to watch the final stages of last season from the stands. But he, like so may others at the Reebok, was encouraged with what he saw from the player deemed his understudy.

"Ali Al-Habsi was great for us last season when I got injured," he said.

"He helped us to stay up and you always want to see your team mates doing well."