Raith Rovers' Fankaty Dabo: From Chelsea joy to Coventry rollercoaster

Reflecting on his time at the Stamford Bridge giants, which saw Dabo have a youth career there from 2007 to 2016 before being a first team squad man from 2016 to 2019, Dabo, 29, who this summer joined Raith on a short term until January, told the Fife Free Press: "Looking back on it, my time at Chelsea was probably one of the best times that I had, learning my trade and applying my craft.

"Probably winning the FA Youth Cup (in season 2013-14 when the Blues beat Fulham 7-6 on aggregate in the final) was what I enjoyed the most at Chelsea. That was a really good personal achievement.

"And also training with the first team a lot and getting to know players and the managers that were there.

"All of them were exceptional footballers. It's difficult to pick one because of how many world class players that were there and how many world class managers walked through the door.

"John Terry and Eden Hazard are probably the easiest ones to pick out. Reece James who's there just now, he was even good at a young age.

"It's happier looking back on it because you take everything for granted when you're kind of living in the moment.

"I've had so many good friends throughout the years. If I'm just picking one now I would pick Jamal Blackman because we are probably the closest in and out of football, just in general life actually.

"I grew up with Jamal at Chelsea and we're from the same area in London. We grew up together for a lot of years.

"As long as Chelsea are not better than Arsenal it doesn't bother me! I hope Chelsea do good things, I just hope they finish below Arsenal.”

Although Dabo recounts his Chelsea years with nothing but fondness, he suffered the torment of missing the crucial penalty as Coventry lost 6-5 against Luton Town in a shoot-out in the 2022-23 EFL Championship play-off final following a 1-1 draw at Wembley Stadium. And he was also handed a free transfer after a disappointing 2023-24 term which saw Forest Green relegated from League Two.

He added: "At Coventry I missed a penalty at the end of the day but I can't say there were a lot of downs.

"Because during my time at Coventry we had got promoted and stayed in the Championship for three years and we almost went up to the Premier League. It was a really good time in my life.

"At Forest Green it just didn't work out. It wasn't one of my best seasons, it wasn't one of the club's best seasons, so it was probably just better to part ways and to be fair they're doing really well this season.”

When asked to disclose the best piece of advice he’d ever received during his football career, Dabo added: "It's kind of bad but one of my coaches told me that the manager never crosses the white line with you. You know how to play football, you've done all this in training, so go and apply what's been done.

"No matter how much we scream at you or they scream at you, only you cross the white line.

"More often than not it's down to the players."