The 25-year-old Leicester City player doesn’t think there has been much of a dip in quality of the standard of the Foxes opponents since they were relegated from the Premier League, though it can be more “intense”.

Asked how the two leagues differ, he told FourFourTwo magazine: “In terms of physicality, I don’t believe there’s much difference.

“The intensity [of the Championship] is the same, if not higher. It’s such a tough league.

“I played in it before on Loan [at Luton] and remember how tough it was.

“It’s developing, you see loads of teams now playing out from the back, playing different shapes.

“Even sides lower down the league are trying new things.

"You’re never going to get an easy game.

"After the top five leagues in the world, I think the Championship is sixth.”

And the midfielder believes the league is going to be even harder to win this year than in previous seasons.

He said: “We know it’s in our hands and that if we do our job then no one can catch us, but you’re human – you want to check how your rivals are doing.

“Credit to the other teams, they’re on our tails, winning each week.

“I don’t know what it’s been like in previous years but I feel we’d probably be more comfortable than we are now.

“That’s a testament to the league, we won 26 out of 36 matches and still weren’t clear.”