Robinson: Tanganga is a 'brilliant' player & Mourinho loves him
Paul Robinson has heaped praise on Tottenham defender Japhet Tanganga after he returned to the starting eleven at Manchester City on Saturday.
The former Lilywhites number one, speaking exclusively to Football Insider, claimed the "brilliant" 21-year-old is clearly a player liked by Spurs boss Jose Mourinho.
Tanganga made his first Premier League appearance of the season on Saturday as Tottenham were beaten 3-0 by runaway league-leaders Manchester City at the Eithad.
However, the right-back's display gave cause for optimism in north London - he completed 89% of his attempted passes and stifled Raheem Sterling in the first half. (Wyscout)
Speaking to the club's website after the loss, Mourinho said Tanganga "did very well" in the absence Serge Aurier, who failed a fitness test before the match.
Robinson echoed the Spurs manager's praise but admitted he was surprised to see Matt Doherty overlooked.
"I know Aurier was unavailable but I was still surprised to see Tanganga in there, especially when you have Doherty is on the bench," he told Football Insider.
"Tanganga is a brilliant player though and clearly the manager is a big fan.
"There just seems to be something ever so slightly amiss with Spurs at the moment.
"In Mourinho's defence they have had a very busy fixture schedule. They have played every three days in February. We can question his team selection but players cannot physically play that many games, it is too much."