Hope happy with switch to Longford
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It has become an annual occurrence; players from Athlone Town making the switch to their near neighbours Longford Town and vice-versa. This year is no different with several players leaving Lisseywollen for Flancare Park. Defender Des Hope is just one of them.
Hope spent nearly ten seasons with Athlone Town but events near the end of last season meant he had to consider his options. He is happy with the move but he admitted it was tough to leave Athlone. “Obviously I’ve a great time for the club. I was there for nearly ten seasons. It was a bit of a wrench to leave but the way things have panned out now it is looking like the right decision. I actually had the chance to join Longford a few years ago. I was chatting to Tony when I left Athlone and I felt the time was right. So far it’s going right,” he told ExtraTime.ie.
One of the deciding factors for Hope in his move to Longford Town was manager Tony Cousins. His new boss has made an impression on him. He said, “I’ve had my fair share of run-ins with managers but I’m delighted with Tony. He is understanding and very straight forward. That is a great thing.”
Things have been going well for Hope since he joined Longford Town and he has formed a decent partnership with Chris Deans at the heart of the defence. The centre-half is delighted with the move. “It’s going great. I’m delighted with the change and happy with the decision I made. It’s all going well now and I’m looking forward to the start of the season. I think we have a great bunch of lads here. I left Athlone a month and a half before the season ended so it was five months since my last match. Myself and Deansy (Chris Deans) will get a good understanding going and hopefully it will bide well for the start of the season,” Hope said.
On Friday night last Hope got his first goal for the club in their 2-1 win over St. Pat’s in a pre-season friendly. It was a very good performance from the Town. Hope was pleased with how the game went, especially his goal. “I was delighted with that. It was instinct, striker’s instinct in the box,” the defender joked. “We were happy enough with the performance. I thought we played very well. We want to build on this. Get results and build confidence for the start of the season.”
Hope spent nearly ten seasons with Athlone Town but events near the end of last season meant he had to consider his options. He is happy with the move but he admitted it was tough to leave Athlone. “Obviously I’ve a great time for the club. I was there for nearly ten seasons. It was a bit of a wrench to leave but the way things have panned out now it is looking like the right decision. I actually had the chance to join Longford a few years ago. I was chatting to Tony when I left Athlone and I felt the time was right. So far it’s going right,” he told ExtraTime.ie.
One of the deciding factors for Hope in his move to Longford Town was manager Tony Cousins. His new boss has made an impression on him. He said, “I’ve had my fair share of run-ins with managers but I’m delighted with Tony. He is understanding and very straight forward. That is a great thing.”
Things have been going well for Hope since he joined Longford Town and he has formed a decent partnership with Chris Deans at the heart of the defence. The centre-half is delighted with the move. “It’s going great. I’m delighted with the change and happy with the decision I made. It’s all going well now and I’m looking forward to the start of the season. I think we have a great bunch of lads here. I left Athlone a month and a half before the season ended so it was five months since my last match. Myself and Deansy (Chris Deans) will get a good understanding going and hopefully it will bide well for the start of the season,” Hope said.
On Friday night last Hope got his first goal for the club in their 2-1 win over St. Pat’s in a pre-season friendly. It was a very good performance from the Town. Hope was pleased with how the game went, especially his goal. “I was delighted with that. It was instinct, striker’s instinct in the box,” the defender joked. “We were happy enough with the performance. I thought we played very well. We want to build on this. Get results and build confidence for the start of the season.”
