DEREK Shaw has been business-minded since his days as a 16-year-old trainee chef.

North End's deputy chairman has come a long way since his cooking days when he was paid £9 a week - but as he admits it wasn't quite enough!

Derek, 40, who lives in a converted barn in Chipping with his wife and two daughters, said: "I was a trainee chef which I thoroughly enjoyed but it was extremely poor money.

"My friends were painters and joiners and were earning more than £20. I was earning £9 and my beer bill every week was £10!"

But now Derek Shaw can afford all the beer he wants. He's gone from his early days of fixing cars and 10 years' shopfitting to running his own business - Ribble Valley Shelving in Longridge - which has a £4m turnover.

Derek, a lifelong Preston fan who was born and bred in the town, began watching the team as a young boy.

His involvement inside the club started seven years ago when his company came to the rescue to sponsor the team's kit when no-one else would.

And 18 months later he was invited to take up a place on the board.

Since then the man who has 25,000 shares in the club has risen from strength to strength and recently was appointed chairman Bryan Gray's deputy.

It's something ambitious Derek is eternally grateful for and very proud of but he admits at times it can be quite hard: "It's great working with someone with the qualities that Bryan Gray has.

"He never gets emotionally involved which is vital. But he must think I'm murder to sit next to at games. I jump up and down and can be a little embarrassing, and I have to bite my tongue sometimes."

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.