RICARDO Vaz Te insisted that he has never regretted turning his back on the giants of Portugal to find fame and fortune in the Premiership.

The precocious 19-year-old, who showed the likes of Benfica, Sporting Lisbon and Porto what they were missing when he rescued a vital UEFA Cup point for Wanderers in Guimaraes on Thursday, is more determined now than he was three years ago to make it big in England.

He has had his frustrations, stalling in his progression from prolific marksman with the youth team and reserves, but refuses to look back on what might have been had he chosen to stay in Portugal.

"When I make a choice, I never look back," Vaz Te said.

"I never feel sorry for myself. I always said I wanted to go to England, no matter what age I was. I wanted it and that was it.

"I had a difficult few months when I first came but this was what I wanted and I was determined.

"I suppose I could have done it in Portugal, you never know, but I am here and that is all that matters."

They all knew about the talented 16-year-old who was playing at Faranense, a small club in the Lisbon area, but it was Wanderers who made the move after one of Sam Allardyce's scouts saw him playing while on holiday on the Algarve.

"It was easy,"Vaz Te said, explaining how his Reebok move came about. "I was playing in the Algarve in the south of Portugal and some fellow saw me play.

"The next thing, they took me to England for a trial. I had the trial, I signed and that was it.

"They (the top Portuguese clubs) did a lot of talking but I wanted to do the playing, so I came to Bolton. Now it's Bolton, Bolton, Bolton. That's all that concerns me now."

Sam Allardyce was so impressed by what he saw of Vaz Te in his academy days that he tied him up on a five year contract. He saw him star in the prestigious Under-20s tournament in Toulon in the summer when he helped Portugal to runners up spot behind the host nation, France, but had hoped that, by now, he would have made a bigger impact at first team level than just a handful of appearances and just the two goals his previous one the only goal of last season' FA Cup win at Oldham.

"As soon as we saw him, we signed him on and last year, because of his talent and thinking he was going to blossom, we gave him a five year contract,"Allardyce said.

"We were expecting him to be more on the front line this season and didn't expect Joey O'Brien to come through like he has done. That just shows you how the game can change.

"Joey's come storming through and Ricardo's been a bit slower than we thought. But he is still an immense talent. We've just got to make sure we keep teaching him the game, when to use his skills and when not to. That should help him force himself into the side on a regular basis."

Vaz Te knows that, despite his stunning late equaliser that earned Wanderers a pivotal result in their quest to qualify for the last 32 of the UEFA Cup, he will be fortunate to make the subs' bench at Fulham on Sunday. But he is undeterred.

"If I don't get the chance on Sunday, I will continue to work hard and train hard,"he said, "and if I don't get the chance next week, I will have to work harder.

"I want to make it at Bolton. I don't want to leave.

"Some day I may end up back in Portugal but my mind is here in Bolton and when I do eventually leave I want the fans to be happy with what I have done and say that I helped the team.

"I've still got another three years left on my contract, but I don't even think about that. All I think about is now.

"I get frustrated. I've scored goals in the reserves, been injured a few times and come back and scored more goals. But the worst thing was earlier in the season when I got injured in training. But I'm back training with the first team again now and the manager gave me my chance the other night and I took it.

"Now all I want to do is play more games and score in the Premiership. That's still my big ambition."