PETER PARRY sighs. Rhyl’s President has heard this one before, a well-worn joke among football chairmen. How do you make a man a millionaire? You take a multi-millionaire then place him in charge of a football club.

“It doesn’t have to be that way,” responds an unimpressed Parry. “Not if the club is run responsibly.”

Nevertheless, bringing stability and success to Belle Vue has not been achieved without great personal expense to the former Lilywhites captain.

A decade after a brain haemorrhage claimed his playing career – and almost his life – at the age of 22, Parry walked through the doors of a club facing its own battle for survival.

In the seven years since taking the helm of an outfit fighting relegation and financial ruin, the self-made millionaire has established Rhyl among the Welsh Premier’s elite, while redeveloping a ground now the envy of the division.

It is a spell which has included a first league title for the club – in 2003/04 – and four consecutive seasons of European football. Figures are never discussed, but the club’s biggest backer is unequivocal about the key feature in Rhyl’s revival.

“Make no mistake, first and foremost it is about money,” said Parry, who insists that the spending is not about to be halted.

Not if he is to achieve a list of ambitions for Rhyl which include usurping TNS as the dominant force, improving the club’s record in European competition and establishing Belle Vue as the FAW’s identified 3,000 seater ground in the North.

A promising striker – he was moved from midfield by then Rhyl bosses and former Liverpool stars Tony Hateley and Ron Yeats – Parry was made Lilywhites skipper at the age of 17.

Moves to Caernarfon and Runcorn – where he was a member of the side which won the Conference – followed, before he returned for a third spell at Belle Vue.

It was at this juncture that the course of Parry’s life would change.

“I suffered a brain haemorrhage while training,” he recalled. “I was lucky to survive. But it is funny, one door closes and another one opens. It gave me the chance to focus on business after being off work for nine months.”

A trained accountant, Parry and his best friend from school – a psychiatric nurse – spotted an opportunity in health care provision for people with severe learning disability and psychiatric needs.

After 10 years Parry had established his enterprise as one of the biggest and most successful in its field in the UK. But it was at this stage that he began to feel the call of the game again.

He added: “After maybe 10 years out of the game, I got a call from Alan Hughes and Norman Jones, who had been holding the club together and were struggling with the finances.

“They asked me whether I would like to get involved. I took three or four months to decide.”

Parry had previously come close to buying Wrexham, having also been approached by giants Liverpool regarding investment. So why Rhyl?

“I am a Rhyl lad, born and bred,” said Parry. “It just felt right. I have a passion for the club, but I honestly don’t think the fans realise what it costs us.

“When I took over at Rhyl they were at such a low ebb – that is no disrespect to anybody – because they were trying desperately to make it work and make it survive. I was able to bring it to a different level.

“I was able to engage the local business community at another level. Not just their money but also their interest. I have brought them along and they have said to me that the football brings good Press to the town. It is nice to hear that.

“In fairness to them they all put their hand in their pockets to a degree. But make no mistake about it, even with all the contributions it is still way off being what is required to run a football club.”

Parry is quick to attribute the club’s enduring success to the establishment of a strategic board he describes as being the envy of the Welsh Premier – men such as former Rhyl player Paul Higginson, Mark Thomas, Norman Jones, John Sutherland and Richard Fowler, who all contribute funds and strategy to the club.

On the field, Parry salutes the achievements of manager John Hulse, who guided the Lilywhites to their first League of Wales title four seasons ago.

“What I like about John is that I can leave the football entirely to him,” he said. “He bounces one or two things off me, particularly if we are looking to spend money on a player. On a couple of occasions he has asked me to go and have a look at a player. He knows I played at a good level.

“It is a recipe for success but it is also a recipe for disaster if you have the chairman interfering all the time. I never offer an opinion to John on football unless I am asked, which is very important.”