FORMER Premier League defender and current Millwall centre-back Japhet Tanganga has revealed the toll of the Championship has taken some getting used to.
The 25-year-old came through the Tottenham Hotspur academy and made a Champions League appearance against Marseille while at the club.
Now, he is a permanent fixture at the heart of an impressive Lions defence – which has not conceded more than one goal in a game in their last eleven outings in all competitions – alongside Jake Cooper.
It is a fine run which started after defeat in a seven-goal thriller at Bristol City back in August.
“The Championship is tough physically,” Tanganga admitted to SportsBoom.com.
“I’ve had to learn constantly playing Tuesday-Saturday, Saturday-Wednesday, etc. It’s physically demanding.
“I don’t think people underestimate the Championship in terms of quality, you can see the quality in the league, but I think they can really underestimate that physical demand.”
Millwall have conceded only one goal in their last four games.
“We’ve been good at the back, but it’s not just the defenders, it’s everyone in the team,” Tanganga said. “It’s important for us going forward to give us that foundation.
“It’s not just me and Coops, it’s everyone. Whoever’s left-back, right-back and the two midfielders in front of us, we’re a real unit.”
A last-gasp winner from Casper De Norre at Swansea City last weekend helped Neil Harris’ charges leap into the top half of the second tier ahead of a tasty game against promotion-seeking Burnley at The Den on Sunday.
Tanganga is hopeful the Lions can find some much-needed consistency to push into play-off contention.
“It’s crazy how bunched up it always seems to be around mid-table,” Tanganga said.
“The start could have been a bit better, but where we are in the table is a good reflection of the start we’ve had.
“There are some games I feel like we have played really well and haven’t won. Where we are is a good start, I’d say.
“Sometimes there are games where we have played well and haven’t won. Those games we can look at ourselves and say we probably weren’t at our best, but that’s where you need to stick in and get a result like we did over the weekend.
“It’s definitely an ambition to get to the Premier League and there’s nothing wrong with ambition.
“You have to take it step-by-step. We had a hard summer with losing Matty [Sarkic] and we’re starting to gel together well now.”
Millwall are three points off the top six after twelve games. Burnley are second, five points behind Sunderland.
Tanganga “said: If you look at us for example, before we won a couple of games in a row we were in the relegation zone and two games later we’re in the top ten. That’s what it’s like.
“It shows how important it is to get that consistency and striving forward and seeing where that takes you.
“The goal is to find consistency and go on a run. You’ve got to build it game by game and hopefully you give yourself a chance.
“Burnley will be a tough test for us. They’re at the top of the table for a reason – but we’re up for the challenge.”
Japhet Tanganga was speaking to https://www.sportsboom.com/football.
