Spurs man reveals he enjoyed his first taste of a London derby despite Chelsea loss

While Japhet Tanganga may be a veteran of London derbies at youth level, the clash against Chelsea was the first time the 20-year-old had featured in one for the first team.

Tanganga has impressed with his composure, athleticism, and tenacity since being handed his opportunity by Jose Mourinho a little over a month ago.

The defender started at right-wing-back at Stamford Bridge as Spurs lined up with five at the back. While Tanganga admitted he enjoyed his first taste of Spurs vs Chelsea, he insisted he was more focused on executing his role on the pitch.

Speaking to the club’s official website, he said: “It was tough, the atmosphere, the history between Tottenham and Chelsea, but I enjoyed it.

“As soon I go beyond these white lines, I’ve so much focus on what the manager wants me to do, the game plan and trying to help the team win.”

The youngster admitted that it was the team’s poor start that let them down and, in the end, made it impossible for them to get something from the game.”

He said: “If we’d scored earlier it would have given us a bit more time, but it goes further back than that. We needed to start the game how we ended the game to give ourselves the best opportunity.”

However, the Spurs academy graduate is still confident that the Lilywhites can finish in the top four by the end of the season, despite Saturday’s set back.

Tanganga added: “It’s not over. We were 12 points behind at one stage but coming into this game, we were one point behind and if we won, we’d have gone above them.”

Spurs Web Opinion

While I still think finishing fourth is possible for us due to the inconsistencies of the sides around us, I just don’t see where the goals are going to come from without Kane and Son. Dele seems to have gone off the ball and Moura scores in patches and can’t be relied upon to score every week.

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