Ryan Mason drops "exciting" West Brom message as new Hawthorns era begins | OneFootball

Ryan Mason spoke to the press for the first time after being appointed as West Bromwich Albion head coach last month

Ryan Mason detailed his excitement about stepping into his first senior, full-time managerial role at his first press conference as West Bromwich Albion head coach after being appointed to succeed Tony Mowbray last month.

The former Tottenham Hotspur midfielder, whose playing career was cut short at the age of just 25, is champing at the bit to get stuck into his first fixed managerial job following his decision to leave North London in favour of a senior gig with the Baggies.

Mason had spent the previous two campaigns serving as assistant to the now-departed Ange Postecoglou, and after being linked with a number of second-tier jobs in recent times, chose to take on the role as the Baggies new head coach by putting pen to paper on a three-year deal in the West Midlands.

Highly-rated within coaching circles, the 34-year-old is bidding to make good on what represents something of a gamble from West Brom's top-brass, who decided to part ways with the experienced Mowbray at the end of last term after a late-season collapse saw their play-off aspirations dashed as they were forced to settle for a ninth-placed finish in the Championship.

The Baggies have ambitions to return to the Premier League ahead of their fifth straight season outside of English football's top-flight, and Mason is excited for the challenge.

Ryan Mason excited to take charge at West Bromwich Albion

While speaking at his first official press conference, the West Brom boss described his feeling of readiness for the job and how he believes it's now the right time for him to show his worth in senior management, having gained a strong reputation in the coaching sphere at Spurs.

He said: “It’s difficult to explain why this is the right time - but it’s more than just a feeling. I felt for a while I’d been ready. I’ve known I’ve been ready.

“It felt it was right. For the people I was working with and the type of club. I’m super-excited about it.”

Mason retired early as a player after complications with a horrific injury sustained when he was at Hull City following a clash of heads with Chelsea’s Gary Cahill.

The one-cap ex-England international has been earning his stripes in the coaching game, though, and he insisted the fire that fuelled his fire days still burned bright.

He added: “I retired from football at 25, which was extremely young.

“I felt like I had so much more to give. I know I had so much more to give and it was just about finding the next passion of mine, and it took a little bit time, but once I found that seven years ago now, I had the fire inside of me to be successful and fulfil the sort of dreams and ambitions that I had as a player.

“So that's something that really excites me.”

During his years since then, Mason has formed part of the backroom team at the North London club, working under Mauricio Pochettino, Jose Mourinho, Antonio Conte and Postecoglou.

Asked about their influences, he said: “Naturally, I think when you have the exposure that I've had to sort of top people and top coaches, you take a lot from them.

“I think what happens as well is that you sort of understand who you are. It brings out what you really believe in and your core beliefs.

“So the experiences and sort of exposure I've had to sort of managers, I'm so grateful that I've experienced that and I feel ready to sort of implement my own style and my own beliefs on this football team.”

Last season in the navy blue and white half of the Black Country was disrupted by Carlos Corberan’s defection to Valencia.

Mowbray tried and failed to lift the club into the play-off positions but the new owners had to juggle an ongoing cash deficit while trying to maintain the club’s ambition.

Mason said: “I'm not here to speak about what's happened before.

“We're here to work together, to improve the club, the culture, the identity of the team, and to build something - and that's what we're doing.

“We're in the early stages of that, but it's an exciting time for me, certainly, I hope that that feeling goes for the players, the staff and everyone at the club as well because we need everyone to be on board and pull in in the same direction to hopefully achieve something special.”

West Bromwich Albion sporting director Andrew Nestor explains Ryan Mason appointment

Meanwhile, West Brom sporting director, Andrew Nestor, explained the rationale behind the appointment of a coach who, apart from 13 games as a stand-in at Spurs, has not taken on a frontline role before.

Although Mason represents an inexperienced option, Nestor outlined how the alignment between the two parties - Mason and the hierarchy - in style of play, squad planning and “organisational process” made him the right fit for the job.

Nestor said: “This was about finding the right fit at the right time.

"Making an appointment in January is very different than making an appointment in the off season when you can build around the entire organisational structure, bring in a new staff and have a pre-season to prepare.

“We felt that once we had the chance to engage with Ryan and talk about his vision for our squad and the club, there was a lot of alignment.