Workington Reds skipper Tony Hopper is hanging-up his boots after a distinguished career.

Hopper, 34, dropped the bombshell news to manager Darren Edmondson – but admitted the hardest job was telling his dad, John!

“I think Darren was disappointed but he knew where I was coming from. My dad played semi-professional level and I was a bit apprehensive about telling him I was calling it a day.

“He’s still going to come through from Carlisle and watch the Reds and I’m sure I’ll be with him when I can,” he said today.

Hopper, who joined Carlisle United straight from school on YTS, went on to play 100 games for the Blues before being released.

He played briefly with Barrow before joining Reds in 2002 when he played 27 games.

The industrious midfielder returned to Reds in 2005 and has been a virtual ever-present in the Conference side taking his total number of appearances for the club beyond 250.

“I’ve thought long and hard about this decision and I’ve changed my mind a couple of times, but this is it.

“To be fair it’s a combination of things – a lot of it to do with work, I have more family commitments and my wife Sue is now training to be a nurse.

“There were times last season when I couldn’t get to matches because of work until, sometimes, half an hour before kick-off and at Christmas and Easter it’s very busy. Getting to training on a regular basis was also a problem.

“That isn’t ideal and as it was going to be similar this coming season I made the decision to call it a day. Darren is turning the club into a professional outfit and my irregular availability made that difficult.

“I feel sad to be quitting now at a time when the club is moving forward and there are so many good signs about the place.

“As far as football is concerned I think I might get involved again when my boy starts playing in three or four years time. It would be good to get involved with any team he plays for,” he said.

Hopper has been an outstanding member of the Workington squad over the last five years and would be a member of most people’s Best-ever Reds Non-League team. He leaves a large hole to fill.

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