PAUL Cooper has lived on the island of Tenerife for the last 11 years.He runs an online golf booking agency - South Tenerife Golf Services - with Suzanne, his second wife, for eight courses on the island and one on La Gomera, the second smallest of the Canary Islands.

Nick Garnham

PAUL Cooper has lived on the island of Tenerife for the last 11 years.

He runs an online golf booking agency - South Tenerife Golf Services - with Suzanne, his second wife, for eight courses on the island and one on La Gomera, the second smallest of the Canary Islands.

Cooper said: “Sue's mum and dad had lived in Tenerife for several years and we were often going over to spend time with them.

“We liked the island and so moved here 11 years ago, although we had no particular plan.

“We set up the business six or seven years ago and have clients all over Europe.

“We basically sell tee times online to tour operators and individuals cheaper than they can book themselves. We e-mail vouchers back to the clients and they then book on line and pay by credit card.

“Sue does most of the work and I do what I am told!”

The couple, who married in 1991, have a 13-year-old daughter Elle, who attends a Spanish school.

Cooper, who plays off a handicap of six, said: “I play golf a couple of times a week and really enjoy it.

“We have friends from the Ipswich area who come over that I play with and Elle has been playing golf for 18 months so I also play with her.”

Cooper keeps in regular contact with George Burley, for whom he used to do some scouting in the north-west of England when his former team-mate was manager at Ipswich.

“George has been out to see us several times and I was chuffed to bits for him when he got the Scotland job.

“He was having a tough time at Southampton, where they are heavily in debt and having to sell their best players.”

He also keeps in touch with Eric Gates and has seen Alan Brazil and Kevin O'Callaghan - all members of the UEFA Cup-winning squad of 1981 - when he has returned to England.

“I don't miss England at all. I used to hate London but we now tend to go there - Elle loves London - when we are back in England and go to shows and restaurants and meet friends there.

“We live 150 yards from the sea and what with the good weather we have here when we go anywhere we don't want to spend time

laying on a beach for two weeks! We prefer to do city breaks.”

Cooper, who had two daughters from his first marriage - Adele who is a deputy head teacher in Aylesbury and Shelley who works in insurance in Ipswich - said he still follows English football on television.

“I only usually watch the top games, because there is saturation coverage of football on television nowadays.

“We get three games on live at 3pm on a Saturday here, so I pick and choose what games to watch.

“I enjoy watching Manchester United and Arsenal. The games can be really entertaining - there are some great players and some great football.

“I am pleased to see Ipswich doing well, I always look out for my old clubs, but think you are sometimes better off being at the top of their league and getting in the play-offs and missing out than getting promoted.

“You wonder if they would do the same as Derby, who went up last season and are getting battered in the Premier League every week.”

Cooper last saw Ipswich play away last season at Southampton when Burley was manager of the Saints but has not visited Portman Road since the 25th anniversary FA Cup reunion in 2003.