Colwill joined Chelsea at Under-9 level, progressing and impressing as he rose through the ranks of our Academy. All the while, there was one fixture that stood out above others. One fixture that left an indelible mark.

‘We had the best rivalry with Tottenham growing up,’ Colwill tells us in the canteen at Cobham after training this week.

‘I can’t really remember if they ever beat us. Playing against them home or away, we knew it was going to be a fight and we really enjoyed it.

‘I remember once at Under-16s we played them in a cup game on the match pitch at Cobham, and we nicked it 2-1 or 1-0 in the last minute.

‘It might have been a handball and someone scored. They were going crazy and it was the best feeling ever! It shut them up. They were the better team on the day but we got the win and that’s what matters. It was on the match pitch at Cobham.’

An Under-18s league game also springs to Colwill’s mind, almost exactly four years ago. That one was played at Tottenham and Ed Brand’s Blues were 5-0 up at half-time, Armando Broja among the goals.

Colwill says it was drummed into him and his team-mates, by coaches and parents, just what Chelsea Tottenham games meant. He noticed the rivalry getting bigger year on year. Now it is his turn to pass the baton on to the many players in the current Chelsea squad yet to sample the intensity of this London derby.

‘I will 100 per cent tell my team-mates about it, but most of them know what a big game it is. At the same time, we will help them realise what a big game this is.

‘Their fans will be up for it, we need our fans to go out with the same energy, and make no mistake we will go out and put a performance in.

‘We have to put a performance in for our fans to be proud of, and for us to be proud of, to show where we can go. We are headed in the right direction. To beat Tottenham, the fans would love it, and we will do everything we can to get the result.’