And the mild-mannered Liverpudlian with his tall, confident stature and firm handshake certainly gives off an aura of a man unafraid of tackling big challenges.

In fact, he has already faced a baptism of fire in the first two months of his reign as chief executive at County Hall with strikes, a fraught job re-grading exercise and missing out on government cash to help the county's transport.

Yet the Liverpool FC season ticket holder, who has moved to Ormskirk to be within 20 minutes of the Reds' Anfield stadium, hopes that – like his favourite football team – he can keep in the Big Four.

In Lancashire's case, that's as one of the top authorities in the UK.

He told the Evening Post: "Firstly, I've negotiated targets with the leader and deputy leader about trying to tackle economic development and improve the employment prospects and business opportunities across the county.

"Secondly, I want to improve communication internally and externally.

"And thirdly, I want to try to build a sense of the 21st Century local authority that the county council can actually become."

Read the rest of this feature in Monday's edition of the Lancashire Evening Post.

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