Leading Sussex football managers have leapt to the defence of the county's leading cup competition.

The Sussex Senior Cup came underfire from outspoken Crawley boss Steve Evans following his side's quarter-final win at Worthing.

Evans said: "This competition is nowhere on our list of priorities. We don't care about it. It is hardly the highlight of my career reaching the semi-final of the Sussex Cup and even if we draw Brighton in the next round we won't be taking any interest in it."

Those comments infuriated Crawley fans who have watched their side lift the trophy twice in the last five years.

They were also poorly received at Sussex FA headquarters, where they have been fighting hard to secure a sponsor for the competition, but what do other managers think?

Sussex non-league football has changed in recent years with Crawley's promotion to the top flight and the advent of Blue Square south. Priorities do change as the stakes get higher but Evans appears to go against the grain.

Albion reserves, Eastbourne Borough and Lewes join Crawley in the semi-finals of this year's competition and their managers have made it clear they do care. Borough boss Garry Wilson said: "I have won the competition with Hastings and with Langney Sports and those victories mean a lot to me.

"We will always take it seriously as we want to win it. You start every season playing in the league, the FA Cup the FA Trophy and the Sussex Senior Cup but realistically the Sussex Senior Cup is our best chance of silverware.

"It might be a hard year for us and Lewes if we made the final as it clashes with the play-offs but hopefully the Sussex FA would take that into consideration. I am sure Steve Evans says these things about not caring but secretly wants to win it."

Albion Reserves boss Ian Chapman said: "We want to win everything we play in and that includes the Sussex Senior Cup. Others might not rate the competition for whatever reason. I guess it is each to their own.

"I know how important it is to my players. They loved it when they won the cup last year. There is nothing quite like lifting a cup for players and I know my players want to experience the same thing this season."

Evans is in his first season in Sussex football and has no previous experience of the competition and what it means to supporters - a mistake that Steven King made when he came to Sussex in 2003.

The Lewes boss said: "The first year I let the youth team play the game at Ringmer and we lost. I didn't realise what the competition meant to people. The following year we had a really good go and got to the semi-final.

"It is not the No. 1 priority and everyone should understand that. The league has got to be the priority but it doesn't mean you downgrade the competition.

"Following that first season, I have taken the competition seriously for the last four years and we have got to one final and three semi-finals. The competition means a lot to supporters and I call it the Fans' Cup."

Ken Benham, chief executive of the Sussex FA, was disappointed by Evans' comments but insists the Senior Cup is still an important part of the Sussex footballing calendar.

Benham said: "If you look at crowds for recent finals we have had up to 2,000 and that shows what the interest is.

"There is still the potential of a Lewes versus Eastbourne Borough final and look at the crowds they got for their two games over Christmas.

"There are ongoing negotiations with potential clients about sponsoring the Senior Cup and those sort of comments do not help. But we have got arguably the top four teams in the county in the semi-final and I doubt they are not taking it seriously."

Do you think the Sussex Senior Cup is still important?