JAPHET Tanganga is hoping to be part of Ange Postecoglou’s Tottenham Hotspur squad next season after his hugely successful loan at Millwall.
Tanganga, 25, proved popular with manager Neil Harris, his team-mates and Lions supporters after helping the side to comfortably avoid relegation.
Millwall were only a point and a place above the bottom three when Harris answered the call to return after the sacking of head coach Joe Edwards with thirteen games left.
Harris instigated a remarkable turnaround, with the Lions collecting 26 points from those games, second in the form table behind promoted Ipswich Town.
Tanganga made eighteen Lions appearances, seventeen of them starts, scored his first two goals in his senior career, both under Harris, and would have played every minute of those thirteen games had he not been sent off in the 85th minute of the 1-0 win at Swansea City on the final day.
Tanganga has a year left on his contract and spoke this week about his future.
“Yes, I am looking forward to working with Ange. Before I came out on loan to Germany, I was welcomed by him in pre-season and obviously I saw his ideas and did like them. Everyone can see that he’s very attack-minded, likes to keep the ball, and he’s doing well, so I’m looking forward to seeing his ideas and being a part of it,” Tanganga told football.london through Sky Bet.
“My focus is to build on from my spell at Millwall, with the number of games I played. you want to be in a position where you’re playing week in, week out, so whether that’s at Spurs or somewhere else, that is something that needs to be discussed in the future and we’ll see where we go from there.”
Tanganga has only once played more than eighteen games in a season, when he played nineteen for Spurs in 2021-22.
“It’s been very important to have a consistent run of games because when you’re not fit, you start doubting yourself, so not only for others to see that I can play consistently, but also for myself,” Tanganga said. “With the injuries you start doubting yourself and start thinking, can I play as regularly without my body breaking down?
“But thankfully, that hasn’t happened, and I’ve shown that I can do it, I just needed time for my body to adjust, and for me to learn my body. Now, hopefully I can kick on and play more than I’ve played at Millwall. Maybe it’s 30 games in a season or 40 games in a season.”
A video emerged from Millwall’s awards night party ahead of the last game of the season showing his team-mates leading him on to the stage. After the Swansea game Tanganga was held aloft in the dressing room.
Tanganga also developed into a strong voice in Harris’ changing room.
“It’s brought out a side that I knew I always had,” Tanganga said. “Playing football is the most important thing and when you’re not playing, sometimes you start doubting yourself. But [Harris] giving me the confidence and trust in me, to play me, allowed me to show more of myself.”
Tanganga reflected on what he had learned in South London.
He said: “We’ve defended a lot. Coming from Spurs where you have most of the ball, whereas at Millwall we may not have had it, so you must be switched on and defend well.
“Defending is my strength, but the main thing out of this spell was about consistency and playing regularly for 90 minutes. With the intensity of the game and the intensity of the Championship, coping and dealing with it, that for me is the biggest thing I’ve learnt which I can take forward.”
