Japhet Tanganga Says Jose Mourinho Asked If He'd Be 'Scared' to Face Liverpool

Japhet Tanganga has said Tottenham Hotspur manager Jose Mourinho asked him whether he would be scared to face Liverpool before he made his Premier League debut against the Reds on Saturday.

The 20-year-old played 90 minutes at right-back as Spurs were beaten 1-0 by Liverpool.

It was his first appearance in the English top flight, and he impressed despite the defeat at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium:

Tanganga explained afterwards the circumstances that led to him being included in the starting XI for the visit of the league leaders, per Goal:

"The gaffer mentioned something on Tuesday. He asked me if I want to play, I said: 'Yeah', he said: 'You wont be scared?', I said: 'No, I wont be scared.' Then we did a bit of shape two or three days before the game and I thought: 'Yeah I’m in the team.'

"The boys have been excellent, cheering me on, encouraging me and letting me know it is just another game. As much as it is my debut, as much as I am playing against probably the best team in the league right now, it doesn’t matter. They were just great, I am grateful for the manager having trust in me."

Tanganga is a centre-back, but Mourinho will have been encouraged that he performed so confidently against Liverpool despite not being in his preferred position.

Spurs are enduring an erratic spell of form and are winless in their past three Premier League games, leaving them nine points off the top four:

Mauricio Pochettino turned Spurs into UEFA Champions League regulars, overseeing four consecutive top-four finishes in the Premier League before he was sacked in November after a poor start to the 2019-20 campaign.

Mourinho needs to turn around his side's form quickly if Spurs are to have any chance of making it five in a row.

Their next league game is at Watford on Saturday, a much tougher proposition now than it was in December, when the Hornets were rock bottom of the table:

Spurs then host struggling Norwich City before welcoming Manchester City to north London on February 2.

After impressing against the toughest of opposition on Saturday, it would be no surprise to see Mourinho call on Tanganga again as he looks to find his most effective side.