Many football fans were baffled when Tottenham Hotspur announced that Jose Mourinho was their new manager. Mauricio Pochettino was sacked after a disappointing start to the season, but he laid a brilliant foundation for the club to build on.
The Argentine gave young players a chance to succeed and many of them did. Mourinho has been made famous for not giving youngsters an opportunity, prompting many fans to feel that Pochettino’s efforts had all gone to waste.
However, in Japhet Tanganga and Oliver Skipp, Mourinho has shown that he is not afraid to give youngsters a chance, which should put an end to all the speculation over the Spurs boss’s preference against using inexperienced players.
Tanganga spoke to TalkSport about the same and he is definitely not a believer of the whole ‘Mourinho doesn’t give young players a chance’ perception.
He said: “He’s been very fair to me. It’s been said that he doesn’t give youngsters a chance, this and that, but Skippy [Oliver Skipp] and I are proof that he does.”
“When he came in he didn’t say anything special to me personally, but he just made it known to everyone that if you worked hard in training you’d be rewarded and that’s exactly how it’s been for me.
“For him to show faith in me to face Liverpool, who had been dominating the league at the time, was definitely a big thing.”
Mourinho not giving a young Kevin de Bruyne a chance at Chelsea was one of the biggest reasons why the Spurs boss has a reputation for preferring older players.
The Belgian is now one of the best in the world and Chelsea fans are clearly not happy that their former boss let him leave. Spurs fans will be hoping that Mourinho continues to give younger players a chance next season.
Tanganga has shown that he can perform at the highest level. A little more faith from Mourinho next season will help him develop into an even better player, potentially saving Tottenham millions in the transfer window.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
