I DON'T know if you have noticed, but there is a pretty large gap opening up at the top of the Premier League table.

There is Manchester City. There is Liverpool. And then there is everyone else.

I had been thinking for some time now that the long-established society that is the “top six” was showing some cracks, but after the first four games of this season, I am convinced it is defective, perhaps beyond repair.

Southampton get a draw against Manchester United with just 10 men.

Chelsea blow a 2-0 home lead against supposed whipping boys Sheffield Utd.

The North London Derby was just … well it was "just”. And all the while, the likes of Leicester City are quietly going about their business of muscling Spurs out of third.

Given the disparity between the top two and everyone else, it was probably of little surprise that the game at the weekend ended the way it did.

Even if, annoyingly, it took a slice of luck and a rare individual error for the European champions to get their noses in front.

The truth is that we didn't actually play that badly and the scoreline felt harsh.

I thought James Tarkowski played one of the best games he’s ever had for us and our Dwight McNeil ran rings around Trent Alexander-Arnold.

The problem is, when you give sides like Liverpool a sniff of a chance, they will take it.

Ben Mee will be hugely disappointed with his error, but the sign of a true leader is his ability to shake it off and move on and I fully expect him to do so.

So … on to the next one. After all, better teams than us will fall to a similar fate during Jurgen Klopp’s quest for the title.

The reality is that there are more important fixtures in the bank of “games to get points from” and we now have three or four matches where we can genuinely expect to collect a decent points tally.

I am also really happy with where we are already. Four points from that horrible opening four games is very respectable.

We start after the international break by unleashing Brighton old boy Ashley Barnes so he can go and cause havoc by the seaside.

And on our way down there, I am going to take a detour to call out Gareth Southgate on his, quite frankly, ridiculous excuse for leaving Ashley out of the England squad and explaining why he’s so very wrong.