Japhet Tanganga has revealed he is looking forward to working with Ange Postecoglou at Tottenham again following the completion of his Millwall loan spell. Not in the Spurs head coach's thinking for the 2023/24 season and allowed to depart on loan, the centre-back initially headed to Germany and linked up with Augsburg.

His time in the Bundesliga proved to be a disaster after failing to make a single appearance for the club due to a knee issue at the beginning of his loan move. Returning to Tottenham in January and immediately joining Millwall in the Championship, the 25-year-old's loan at The Den proved to be a huge success.

Helping Neil Harris' side comfortably achieve Championship safety after a real scare in the first part of 2024, Tanganga also got to feature regularly for the London-based club and made 18 appearances in total. Now set to return to Hotspur Way in the summer with his future still very much up in the air, the Tottenham academy graduate has indicated that he is looking forward to time on the training pitch with Postecoglou.

Speaking to football.london through SkyBet, Tanganga said: "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."

Amid questions marks over where exactly the defender will be playing his football next term, Tanganga is fully focused on building on a really positive loan with Millwall.

"My focus is to build on from my spell at Millwall, with the number of games I played," he said. "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."

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Injuries have really disrupted Tanganga's time in the Tottenham first team and limited him to 50 appearances in all competitions across four seasons. Not only was his Millwall loan important in terms of featuring a bit more regularly, it was also vital in regards to showing that his body can cope with the intense demands of Championship football on a weekly basis.

Having started 17 of his 18 appearances for Millwall, Tanganga is now targeting playing 30 or 40 games in a season as he looks to get his career firmly back on track after a difficult couple of years.

"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," outlined Tanganga. "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 its 30 games in a season or 40 games in a season."

A huge hit with Millwall players and fans, Tanganga also appeared to make quite the impression on Harris and vice versa. Speaking in March, the Millwall legend revealed that the defender had grown in personality within a few weeks and was speaking at half-time in the dressing room to his teammates.

"It's brought out a side that I knew I always had," said the defender. "Playing football is the most important thing and when you're not playing, sometimes you start doubting yourself. But him [the manager] giving me the confidence and trust in me, to play me, allowed me to show more of myself."

So what exactly is the biggest thing Tanganga can take from such a successful time with The Lions?

"We've defended a lot [at Millwall]," admitted the former England Under-21s international. "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."

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