The minors face Limerick in an All-Ireland quarter-final in Thurles on Sunday and their three provincial wins and Munster final appearance has been a shot in the arm. The Waterford County Board are almost halfway through a 10-year strategic plan that pays considerable attention to developing players.

However, Greene fears not enough is being done compared to what the other Munster hurling counties have been putting into their youth. “Waterford’s problem is deeper than a competition format,” said the 1982 All-Star. “Waterford’s problem is our under-age structures. I mean, what have we won at minor or U20? In the early '90s, we were making a shot at these things. We were winning Munsters and an All-Ireland and there was 2016 as well.

“Since 2017, I’d say you could count the number of matches we have won at under-age on one hand. That’s eight years and that’s where the issues are. You can’t build a house by putting a roof on first, it doesn’t work like that.

“We have to sit down and look deeply at our structures and the way we go about things. We have to develop more time and money to the next generations and other counties in Munster are proving it. Tipperary are U20 Munster champions for the second year in a row. Cork have been U20 All-Ireland champions.

“We’re up against that and we’re not doing ourselves because we’re not doing justice to ourselves in Waterford. Clare and Limerick have put in big structures too and have reaped the rewards but it didn’t happen overnight.” 

Simply expecting the senior team management to transform players is asking too much, Greene insisted. He applauded the work done by Peter Queally and his group this team this year in earning promotion to Division 1A and coming within a win of making the knock-out stages of the All-Ireland SHC.

“We have to stop expecting people like Peter to go in there and work miracles. He doesn’t really have the bullets to fire. There are some very good young players in Waterford but they are not being brought through the right way. Whatever is there at the moment is not enough and it needs to be addressed so we can get back up there.

“Like, it’s ’59 since our last All-Ireland – nearly 70 years. The only way to rectify it is to cure the cause. Cork on Sunday brought on lads who would be on the Waterford team. I’m not criticising any individual but it’s a fact. We don’t have the depth. I thought Peter Queally and the lads this year got the very best out of what they had. They could have done little more with the lads.” 

Greene wonders what will follow the All-Ireland U21 class of 2016 that featured Stephen and Shane Bennett, Austin Gleeson, Conor Prunty and Patrick Curran when they and the likes of Jamie Barron and Tadhg de Búrca retire.

“We don’t have enough of them. We had a similar situation in my playing time, we didn’t have a big team and we didn’t win anything either.”