LITTLE wonder Fabio Tavares struggled to make his mark when he was an aspiring pro at Coventry City.
The attacker had left Rochdale and was seeking to establish himself in the Championship with the Sky Blues.
Rotherham United new boy Fabio Tavares. Picture: Jim Brailsfordplaceholder image
Rotherham United new boy Fabio Tavares. Picture: Jim Brailsford
But standing in his way was a Swedish centre-forward who has since gone on to win the Premier League title and play in the World Cup Finals, plus a man who has been one of the EFL's most consistent scorers in recent years.
Of young Fab's 22 league appearances between 2021 and 2025, just one was as a starter, and he later found match minutes hard to come by when he dropped down a level to join Burton Albion.
Now, at the age of 25, the player has joined Rotherham United and is aiming to play his part in the revival mission in League Two of head of football and former England boss Steve McClaren.
Both club and player are somewhat in need of a rebuild.
“The level of players ahead of me at the time at Coventry … one now plays for Arsenal (Viktor Gyokeres) and Matty Godden was an unbelievable striker,” Tavares says. ”That's just what I was competing with.
“At Burton, I wanted to play a bit more than I did, but I still felt like I did okay with what I was given. Then just coming here and Steve saying game time is important, that's what I wanted to hear. Now it's time to kick on. Both of our plans and goals aligned. It felt it was a perfect move for me.
“He said that he wanted to get as much game time into me as possible. He's someone who's done so much in the game and it means a lot to come from someone like him. He's someone you can put your trust in and know that he will come through on his word.
“I just kind of felt a trust in him. It's about building a culture in the club and making it a family with the fans and the staff and the players. When everyone's pulling in the same direction, it's so much easier. It creates that positive feeling which then flows onto the pitch.
“The main thing for me, obviously, is to play. I'm just kind of getting my confidence back in myself and getting back to where I know I can be.”
In seven years since his debut with Rochdale, there have been 29 starts and 85 substitute appearances. He admits to his frustration at how often he's been on the bench, but Tavares isn't the sort of guy to kick up a fuss.
“You work hard all week but there's no point sulking in the morning come game day because, you never know, you might come on and score the winner,” he says. “It's about being in the right mindset and being prepared to be used in any way for the team first before yourself.
“I'm one of those people - you can't be negative around me because I'll just pull you up on it and be like: 'Look, come on, there's so much more to life.' It's all about being positive.”
His Coventry experience was repeated at Burton where he found his path to the starting 11 blocked by a duo former Rotherham manager Matt Hamshaw regarded as the best paring in League One, Jake Beesley and Tyrese Shade.
A proposed loan move to AESSEAL New York Stadium last January fell through and Tavares had to wait until his release by Albion this summer before heading up the M1 to S60.
He put his trust in the figure upstairs, and in this instance we’re not talking about McClaren.
“Just a couple of things didn't align - financial stuff between the clubs and things like that,” he says. “I'm a man of faith, so I believe maybe God stopped me for a reason because it wasn't the right time for me. Now is the right time. I'm here permanently, which is better than a loan. I can settle in and really buy into it.”
We're talking at the training ground earlier this month. He was born in Portugal but been in this country for years and there's no hint of an overseas accent.
He's carrying no weight and looks like an athlete, but that doesn't mean he enjoyed his sub-six-minute Roundwood Mile - the individual race against the clock that all of Rotherham's players have to endure during the course of pre-season.
”I think my time was in the middle,” he says. “That's not my main type of thing. I'm normally straight line and high intensity rather than a bobble around a long circuit. I was glad to get it out of the way. I was nervous about it.”
While a middle-distance test might not be his cup of tea, he does feel that his new club should be in the running for an instant return to League One following last term's relegation.
”One-hundred per cent, that's the target,” he says. “I've been at the stadium a few times to play against Rotherham. I actually played against them in the Championship, so that's my memory of them - a team that probably should be in the Championship or, at a minimum, high up in League One and pushing for the play-offs or promotion. It's not pressure, it's realistic expectations.
“Get over last year. It's happened. There's nothing you can do to change it. There's no point moping around and dwelling on that. Buy into what the head coach and Steve are trying to bring here and the culture they're trying to set.”
Talking of the head coach, Tavares isn't the only summer arrival - Alex Bruce is also fresh to the club.
“Really good,” says the player of his first impressions of the 41-year-old. “He gets involved a lot in training. His style is progressive, fast, attacking football, pressing hard and quick, especially higher up the field, which is what I'm about.
“It aligns well with myself, and I think the team are picking up on what he's trying to put down. I feel like it's going to be good. It's about buying into what he wants us to do. We have to have a tight-knit group where we're all pushing in the same direction, even though we've all got our own individual goals within that.
“Burton are a good example of what can be done. The fan base isn't big, but the fan base bought into the manager and the manager bought into the players. And the group that we had was really strong.
“The reason why they've not been relegated and they've always found a way through is because the fans, the players and the staff have been working together, so why not do that here?
Rotherham's interest in him has made him feel valued and he's determined to repay them by finding his best form during his two-year contract.
”I like to go forward - runs off the shoulder - and I'm quite quick,” he says. “I'm a fox in the box, I like to have rebounds, tap-ins. There's always movement in the box from me. I'm not scared to take people on.
“Predominantly, I'm a striker. but I love playing left wing too. I like that position as much as a striker. I can also play on the right. I've played there quite a bit. I can play anywhere across the front three, really. I'm positive and I want to bring energy.
“I've never played in League Two. I'm guessing it won't be too much of a difference from League One in terms of physicality, running and hard work. I'm excited for the challenge.”
All told, he has 18 career goals - four for Rochdale, four for Coventry and 10 across 45 appearances for Burton.
The last of his Sky Blues strikes came in a 5-0 home Championship triumph in March 2024.
Against Rotherham.
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