Evergreen manager Gary Maher says they need clubs like Highview Athletic to improve the standard of the local teams at National level.
Speaking to KCLR ahead of Sunday’s Pat Maher Shield Final, Gary says that Highview have improved immensely over the past few years.
“In fairness, Highview have made really good progress in a short space of time if you look at it.
“They won Division 2 two seasons ago, and last year were runners-up I think in Division One with Deen Celtic to come up and now in the third season to be in a Shield Final is massive progress in a short space of time.
“They are doing excellent work and for us on a National Stage we need Highview to be strong, we need the clubs like Highview to be strong to help us all succeed nationally and I am expecting a really tough test on Sunday.
“It’s going to be really tight, they are doing very well, they have knocked out Thomastown already in this competition so they have shown they have that quality to beat the top teams,” he said.