There may have been a few eyebrows raised when Watford decided to send their Under-21s to India to compete in the Nagjee Cup but the club’s head of academy Chris McGuane is in no doubt the trip left a profound mark on the Hornets’ youngsters.

The Golden Boys squad spent a little over two weeks in India and took on sides from across the world before exiting in the semi-final.

The Hornets faced teams from Brazil, Romania and Ukraine. They competed in front of 40,000 people. And they played in sweltering conditions.

Those experiences will undoubtedly benefit the young players going forward.

But away from the pitch and away from the competition is perhaps where the lasting impact was made.

“It’s a completely different way of living,” McGuane explained. “There is some extreme poverty and it’s hard to see.

“A couple of boys, even when we were there, said: ‘We don’t realise in this country (England) how fortunate and fantastic a lifestyle we have’.

“We probably moan every day about something. It opens their eyes. The majority of them would never have seen or experienced something like that before.”

New experiences are two words McGuane uses often when talking about young players.

The weekly routine of training and competing in either Under-21s or Under-18s matches can only benefit them to a point.

The importance of tours shouldn’t be underestimated when it comes to young players’ development.

They give clubs the chance to work with players every day instead of the limited hours they have at London Colney.

“From the Under-18s down we take every group away at least twice a year for various different trips,” McGuane said.

“The likes of the Under-9s and Under-10s will stay closer to home but we’ve got teams going to Germany, Spain, Denmark and Holland over the next three or four months.

“It’s a really important part of their development. It’s time away from their family. You get to know them a lot better, especially the younger players. You learn what their manner is like off the pitch as well as on.

“Things like how they sit at the dinner table, how their manners are and are they holding doors open for others? If we can put all the pieces of the jigsaw together it’s going to help them on a Saturday.”

Despite the resources available to Watford since the Pozzo takeover and their subsequent promotion to the Premier League, there remains an emphasis on the club’s Academy.

The pathway through to the first team has become harder in recent seasons, there is no disputing that. But McGuane and his staff are committed to developing young players who have a future in the game.

“No one is going to remember whether our Under-18s or Under-21s won the league in 10 years’ time,” he said.

“But they will remember how many players have progressed on through and who’s playing in our first team. That’s the most important thing.”