STEVE Banks arrived at the Reebok today prepared to fight for his place but determined to become Wanderers' No 1.

The highly-rated goalkeeper, snapped up from Blackpool for a knockdown fee of £50,000, is expected to go straight into the side at Oxford on Easter Saturday.

He had been earmarked for a move to Bolton in the summer, after his contract had expired, but Colin Todd could not afford to wait after seeing Jussi Jaaskelainen's form and confidence dip in recent weeks while Keith Branagan continued his recovery from groin surgery.

Banks said after sealing the deal: "I've been brought in to fight for my place. I'm going there as the equal of the other two and it's up to me to make the position mine.

"I'm very determined."

The 27-year-old, rated by Manchester United's Peter Schmeichel as one of the best goalkeepers outside the Premiership, believes Wanderers can help him achieve his ambition to play in the top flight.

"Bolton is a good opportunity for me to get into the Premier League," he said. "They've had a couple of slip-ups but they can still get up there."

Banks will find a familiar figure waiting for him at the Euxton training headquarters. Wanderers' goalkeeping coach, Fred Barber, also works with the Blackpool keepers.

"I've been working hard with Fred and I've improved a lot," says the former Gillingham keeper. "His training's very hard and he's made me stronger. He's worked on every aspect of my game and I'm delighted I've been able to work with him.

"But it was sheer coincidence that I'm moving to another of Fred's clubs. He had nothing to do with it. In fact, I think he's been kept in the dark. He kept telling me that all he was picking up about who was interested in me was what he read in the papers."

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