A MAN helped sign soccer star Alan Shearer in an illustrious former career - but his latest signing is an idyllic country pub!

John Howarth, secretary of Blackburn Rovers for 25 years, has become landlord of the Duke of York in Waterside near Darwen.

John became secretary at Ewood Park in 1970 and worked under many of the team's managers including Gordon Lee, Jim Smith and Kenny Dalglish.

As secretary, John was responsible for the important administration at the club and part of his role was to negotiate contracts with players and then draw them up.

"My claim to fame is that I drew up Alan Shearer's contract from a caravan in Cornwall and then faxed it to him," John recalled.

John rates his time under Kenny Dalglish as his favourite period at the club when Rovers won the Premiership title in 1995.

After 26 years, John left Rovers in 1996 and became secretary at Burnley for two years and then Sheffield United.

John is now a fully qualified football agent but his current priority is to make the Johnson Road pub, which he took over last October, a success.

He said: "The people in Waterside are real people who are very involved in farming.

"They were delighted when I took over the pub as it is a big part of the community.

John, whose parents were in the licensing trade, is determined to make a success of the Duke of York.

He said: "There has been a lot of hard work put into it and now it's going in the right direction."