It was a little over five years ago that Japhet Tanganga caught the eye for by stifling the previously irrepressible Sadio Mane on his debut.

Aged just 20, Tanganga was thrust into the spotlight in only his second senior appearance for Spurs and immediately looked at home on the big stage with his aggressive, resolute approach to blunt one third of Liverpool's menacing attack.

Plenty has changed since then. The defender is no longer at the club he called home for more than 15 years and there have been hardships, mainly in the form of injuries. But one thing that hasn't changed is the man himself, both on and off the pitch.

"I feel like I'm still that same player," says the Millwall man, whose face lights up when that buzzword of 'aggression' is put to him.

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"[Aggression] is still a big part of who I am on the pitch. Those are some of my best attributes: I'm aggressive and I play hard.

"I love defending, stopping my opponents from scoring, that's always been a big part of me as a football player. That hasn't changed to this day."

Tanganga modelled his game on Nemanja Vidic growing up as a boyhood fan. The Serbian, like Tanganga, plays with an edge.

Ahead of Millwall's eagerly anticipated fifth round meeting with local rivals , a clip of the classy defender scrapping with Wilfried Zaha went viral among Millwall fans on social media. While he may have riled Palace fans, Tanganga ended up being sent off and Spurs went on to lose 3-0.

He says there is no chance of a repeat. "That was a moment of madness! I definitely learned from that and it won’t be happening again."

Tanganga's game was schooled over 15 years at Spurs, but he has found a home away from home at Millwall, where he has quickly earned top billing among the club's fanbase.

Anybody who has watched the Lions regularly in the Championship this season would acknowledge that Tanganga has stood out for all the right reasons. A Premier League player in all but name, it's hard to think of many players who have made as significant an impact as Tanganga has in such a short space of time at The Den.

No wonder, then, that he's idolised in south east London. The feeling is mutual: the fact Tanganga was taken in by Millwall and given the chance to rediscover his best form is not lost on him given he had been out of the limelight and hardly played.

"I hear the chanting in the crowd and stuff like that," Tanganga says, referencing fans who have tweaked The Proclaimers' 'I'm Gonna Be' hit to incorporate the defender's name. "It's a great feeling.

"That's why want to I do well, not just for myself, but also for the club and the fans. For taking me in. The level of appreciation I've had, it's all love.

"When you're on the pitch you always give your all and when they see you doing that and appreciate that you're fighting for the club [it's special]."

Tanganga amassed 50 appearances during his time at but was on the fringes long before he moved on for good in the summer. His initial loan spell with the Lions last January was preceded by a disappointing stint in Germany with Augsburg; Tanganga joined while still injured and by the time he was back in the picture, a change of management meant he was effectively surplus to requirements. He didn't play at all.

The chance to reunite with then-Millwall head coach Joe Edwards - who Tanganga knew from his days in the England youth set-up - presented itself. The move came at a time where Tanganga knew he had to play regularly. A succession of small injuries plagued him during his time at Spurs so much so that he took it upon himself to investigate why his body was breaking down.

Thankfully, those issues appear to be behind him. He has already eclipsed the 50 appearances he made for Spurs during his brief time at Millwall in one of Europe's most robust and demanding leagues.

Crucially, he has flourished amid the physicality of the Championship, coming through three-game weeks and rapid turnarounds unscathed. On a physical level, Tanganga feels better than ever.

"The worst part of football is being injured. I'm a man of faith and I felt like there was a lesson that God was trying to teach me, which was to work on myself and my body.

"It was an opportunity for me to learn about myself and understand what is good for me, what's not good for me, what helps in this area, what doesn't help. There were certain things I had to leave out and adapt to: diet, gym, workouts all stuff like that. What helps my body recover and what doesn't.

"It's been tough, but when you love the game as much as I do and want to succeed, nothing really feels like a sacrifice. I understand my body now, the things I can and can't do."

Tanganga acknowledges the role his faith played in said journey, which entailed many dark days. is another a release - he insists he's a dab hand at Madden - and his love for the bore fruit to a fantasy league with some of his team-mates this season.

It may not be the Super Bowl, but it's hard to think of a bigger game in Millwall's recent history than Saturday's trip to Selhurst Park, where they will face their local rivals, Crystal Palace, for the first time in three years.

On paper, the Eagles are favourites: they are the Premier League side, they have home advantage and Lions head coach, Alex Neil, watched firsthand as their abundance of attacking riches tore apart in midweek.

But if any body knows the magic of the cup, it's Millwall. They have a strong FA Cup pedigree: they are one of just two non-Premier League teams who have reach the final of the tournament since 1992. The Lions are even the ultimate giant-killers, with no team bettering the 25 times they have eliminated higher-level opposition since the inception of the cup.

The Lions have quietly picked up since Neil took charge at the end of December, too. The Scot's fingerprints are starting to show on a team who have moved to within six points of the play-off places.

He and Jake Cooper have struck up a formidable partnership at the heart of Millwall's miserly defence, which is top-six quality. They have been the cornerstone of the Lions' climb up the table.

"I think we just compliment each other," Tanganga says when he's asked why him and the imposing Cooper have meshed so well.

"I think that's the thing, not only with Coops but whoever's been in the back line, I think first and foremost, it's kind of the motto of our team, that pride in our defending."

Crucially, they have nothing to fear. Tanganga says as much. They will be backed by a wall of noise from the 3,781 travelling fans, who snapped up tickets for a jolly jaunt down to Selhurst Park, which has been a happy hunting ground for them since the turn of the Millenium.

But for all the excitement among those who will descend on SE25 in the morning, Tanganga reckons the players are relishing it just as much - if not more so.

"It's a London derby, we're in good form and It's an opportunity to get into the quarter-finals," he says of Saturday's match.

"It's a big thing for us as well as the fans to get a game like this. We get to test ourselves against a team who are in good form for a place in the quarter finals of a big competition like the .

"We're two wins game away from Wembley which is exciting, but the focus is solely on Saturday and seeing how we measure up."

While he is adamant the outcome will be different to his last excursion to Selhurst Park, the one thing that won't change is his approach. If you could pinpoint one game it would suit down to the ground, it's this one.

"Some players are able to do things differently, but for me, I feel like [having that edge] brings out the competitiveness in me. That aggression, it's what I need to be at the top of my game. You're not going to get the better of me; that's it."

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