Clare footballer Ikem Ugwueru is confident Banner can repeat their 2022 League of Ireland quarter-final success as they prepare for the Sam Maguire Cup group stage.
Despite Munster suffering a third successive defeat to Kerry last weekend, Ugwueru insists there are positives to take from another provincial decider, including a guaranteed All-Ireland place.
Clare will face Down, Monaghan and the winner of the Leinster final between Meath and Louth in a group containing no First Division teams, something Ugwueru sees as a possibility.
“Any day, anyone can defeat anyone,” he noted.
“If I compared Meath to Dublin, everyone would say Dublin would win easily, but Meath showed up on the day and got the result.
“The same thing happened to Down – they almost beat Donegal. If they had had a point or two or a goal on their side, they would have done it.
“The group is balanced. We will not take anyone for granted. We will look at each game individually and will not look too far ahead.”
Clare's progress under Colm Collins and now Mark Fitzgerald has been remarkable, with three successive Munster finals and a quarter-final run in 2022 demonstrating the team's consistency at the top level of the provincial and national championship.
Although they have failed to win a group stage game in the last two seasons, Ugwueru sees clear signs of progress and believes Claire is building a team for the long term.
“Any district can use this as a blueprint – we all have a beginning. It's about the team and the collective.
“If you put in the effort, you can get up there. Claire was in the Fourth Division, then the Third Division, then spent years in the Second Division.
“Some of the guys on the team have been through this. We all have that fighting spirit and we use it to our advantage.
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“We're not going to finish this this year – it could take several years, and we're all ready to do it.”
Sourse: breakingnews.ie
