EIGHT-year-old Shaun Wood has given the Clarets a psychological advantage ahead of tonight’s hotly-anticipated derby with Owen Coyle’s Bolton.

Plucky Shaun, from Nelson, was selected to pit his sporting prowess against a rival Wanderers fan at Manchester’s Chill Factore indoor ski slope, as a precursor to tonight’s clash at the Reebok Stadiums.

And the St Philip’s Primary School pupil did not let down Brian Laws and the boys when he bettered 10-year-old Bolton fan Jade Turner on the artificial piste.

The pair were filmed for the day by a camera crew from the CBBC channel’s Sportsround programme and Shaun was picked out for the job by headteacher Kathryn Ellidge.

Mrs Ellidge said: “When we all got back to the car he was laughing his head off, because he had won, and we were all cheering.

"We just couldn’t do that inside because it wouldn't have been sporting.

“Jade was a lovely little girl and there was a lot of banter between us because of the match, but Shaun did the school proud and the producers were really impressed by his behaviour.

“It was quite a difficult challenge because they had a number of gates which they had to go through.

“But no sooner was Shaun at the bottom than he went straight back to the top and he wanted another go.

“It was like a Lou and Andy sketch from Little Britain – when we turned around he had gone and was going again!”

Bosses at the Chill Factore had recommended pupils from St Philip’s for the Sportsround challenge following a visit there by the Leeds Road pupils last year.

The headteacher knew Shaun had his own Burnley shirt, which he got for Christmas, but when she contacted the youth development section at Turf Moor, officials gave her a jacket and Clarets socks to complete his outfit.

“The club was very supportive and we would like to thank them,” she added.