Harvey raps dawn chorus

with bring League Cup final, together with the EFL play-offs, are the only games they can manage to get inside Wembley to watch their team.”

Suggesting this latest departure from normality is the tip of an iceberg is, quite frankly, “fake news”. Donald Trump pulled out the teams for the fifth round of the 1991 Rumbelows Cup.

“There is absolutely no plan to take games overseas,” Harvey said. “This is why I get irritated by cheap shots. How could we do that? I’m not sure how many tickets we would sell for a first-round tie and by the time the Premier League clubs are involved, the season is well underway and we could never move one of those midweek games abroad.

“A genuine attempt to build the brand is being ridiculed.”

Harvey faced criticism last year over the EFL’s introduction of under-21 teams from Category One academies, from the Premier League and Championship, to the Checkatrade Trophy – a competition traditionally contested by League One and League Two sides.

Yet Manchester City, Tottenham and Newcastle felt the venture was successful enough to join this season and with three games left to go in the opening round of group games, average attendances are up seven per cent.

“Every report says that a lack of competitive games for young players is one of the main things hampering their development,” Harvey said. “We are about creating the best opportunities at our clubs for young players and bringing them to maturity. If England benefits as well, brilliant.

“I guarantee, if we do well in Qatar and at the 2026 World Cup, some of the players will have played in the Checkatrade Trophy.”