It is a gulf in class that becomes more apparent on nearly every occasion – the gap between the Premier League and the Championship.

The three teams promoted last season are currently sitting in the relegation zone, and the trio promoted the season before all came straight back down again.

Fulham beat Watford 4-1 at Craven Cottage in the FA Cup and had the luxury of being able to rest a number of their first-choice players.

The Hornets also had to rotate, but even if they had fielded their ‘strongest’ XI it’s debatable if they would have got much closer to their hosts.

As someone who spent a large chunk of his playing career at the top level of club football, as well as representing his country, Tom Cleverley talked a little after the cup tie about what it takes to be a top-flight player.

“It’s a mindset being a Premier League player, it’s not just what you see out there for 95 minutes,” he explained.

“It’ll be how they live their lives, how they recover, how they warm up, how they go to the gym – it’s a mindset thing.

“It’s a mentality that is intense and demanding.

“I try and teach this to our younger players every day that what you do for the other six and a half days each week will be represented by what you do in those 90 minutes.

“It’s not the only difference between the Premier League and the rest – there’s obviously quality and talent.

“But I think the intelligence of their players and a lot of other things set them apart.

“I’m not saying our players can’t get there, and I would love to see nothing more than our players compete at this level for Watford, or in the future for someone else.

“I would get a lot of satisfaction from that.”

As well as the type of player that Premier League clubs have at their disposal, there is also the number of them.

“Squad depth is something I can’t complain too much about because our injury record has been really good, and I’ve not lost too many players out through injury,” Cleverley pointed out.

“I’ve always had quite good availability.

“But if we were to have three or four injuries then we’d be very thin.

“I think the Premier League clubs have maybe the luxury of losing three or four through injuries and still having huge numbers of quality players to pick from.”