Robinson began his career with the Tottenham Hotspur youth system as a trainee, signing a professional contract in January 1994. He joined Bournemouth due to the lack of first team opportunities at Tottenham. After a highly successful time at Bournemouth, Robinson joined Preston North End in 2000. After failing to force himself into Preston's starting XI, he joined Bristol City on loan until the end of the 2001–02 season. After this he joined Luton Town for a fee of £50,000 in 2002. He was forced to play on the right-wing by then manager Joe Kinnear, despite his position being an attacking centre-midfielder in his Bournemouth days. New manager Mike Newell soon reverted Robinson to his favoured central-midfield role, and he was rewarded with a League One championship in 2005, and a tenth-place finish in the Championship in 2006. During the 2006–07 season, Robinson captained the side in Chris Coyne's absence and was handed a new two-year contract by Hatters boss Mike Newell. On 26 July 2008 Robinson agreed to a mutual termination of his contract at Luton.
International career
Robinson was capped internationally by Northern Ireland on seven occasions from 1997 to 2007. He also played for the under-16, under-18, under-21 and B teams.
Coaching career
Robinson joined Motherwell in February 2015, to assist manager Ian Baraclough. He also assisted the Northern Ireland national team, working with Michael O'Neill, that qualified for UEFA Euro 2016. Robinson was previously manager of the under-age Northern Ireland squads, working for the Irish Football Association. Robinson was appointed manager of Oldham Athletic in July 2016. He was replaced as manager by John Sheridan on 12 January 2017. Robinson returned to Motherwell in February 2017, this time to assist Mark McGhee as first team coach. Less than two weeks later, Robinson took over as interim manager following McGhee's departure from the club. He was subsequently appointed as manager on a permanent basis in March 2017. On 13 October 2017, Manager Robinson extended his contract with Motherwell until May 2020. On 22 October 2017, Robinson guided Motherwell to the Scottish League Cup final after defeating Pedro Caixinha's Rangers 2–0 at Hampden. The game saw both managers sent to the stands for their behaviour on the touchline. They were defeated in the final 2–0 by Celtic. In April 2018, Motherwell won in the 2017–18 Scottish Cup semi-finals, overcoming Aberdeen 3–0, to set up another final with Celtic the following month; this was the first time the club had appeared in both domestic finals since the 1950–51 season. In September 2019 Robinson said clubs had a duty of care in relation to players' mental well-being if they were injured.
