EAGLE Sports manager Robert Hope has left the club after almost eight years in charge to take over at North West Counties Premier Division side Barnton.

Hope, who starts his new role with immediate effect, leaves Eagle after a trophy-laden spell which started when he guided them into the top flight of the Cheshire Football League in his first season in charge.

He has also won the JB Parker Cup twice, the Warrington and District Guardian Cup in 2012 and rounded off his tenure with the club’s first ever Liverpool CFA Challenge Cup last season.

However, after much deliberation, Hope decided it was time to test himself at a higher level.

“I have been agonising for a few days over accepting a new challenge but in the end, I have deicded to give it a go,” he said.

“As much as I love Eagle and it is a wrench to leave, I owe it to myself to have a crack at a higher level and see what happens.”