Fulham boss Roy Hodgson has praised the performances of rookie defender Chris Smalling, insisting the youngster’s meteoric rise from non-league football has not taken him by surprise.

Smalling, 20, signed for the Whites in June 2008 having caught Hodgson’s eye while playing for Ryman League Premier Division side Maidstone United.

Making his Fulham debut in the final game of last season against Everton, the powerful centre-back enjoyed his first start against Chelsea last month and has since pushed his case for regular inclusion in the first team, as well as breaking into the England U21s line-up.

After a superb display in the recent 1-0 FA Cup third round win over Swindon Town at Craven Cottage, which secured next week’s tie against either Accrington Stanley or Gillingham, Hodgson was quick to praise the youngster’s displays.

“He did well again, and he’s doing well for us,” said the veteran manager.

“Of course, the (Swindon) game suited him as they passed the ball well enough and there were lots of balls coming into the box in the air. This was the type of game we expect him to be good in, and he was pretty much fault-free throughout. He’s good on the ground as well.

“He’s a 20-year-old and I’m keeping his feet on the ground.”

Hodgson insists he is not overly surprised by the youngster’s transition from non-league football to life as a Premier League star.

He added: “The difference, strangely enough, between lower-league football and Premier League football is not as great as people like to make out in single games and in individual performances over a very short term.

“The difference comes in people’s ability to do the job or produce the performance which they might be able to produce on a one-off occasion week after week at a higher level.

“They have to be able to produce that week after week and be able to play at that level of intensity.

“I don’t know that the difference in individual matches is that enormous, and I think we’ve seen that. If you look at the results in games between teams in the lower leagues and Premier League teams, you are not seeing 5-0s or 6-0s, you are seeing single-goal victories.”

Fulham’s scheduled home clash against Portsmouth last Saturday was postponed due to a frozen pitch.

Fulham’s next three matches: Jan 17 Blackburn (a), 23 Accrington Stanley or Gillingham (a), 26 Tottenham Hotspur (a).