Ryan Mason gives first sit down interview as new West Brom head coach and reflects on career

Ryan Mason gives his first sit down interview as the new West Brom head coach and reflects on his career as player and coaching.

The newly appointed head coach of the Baggies on a three-year contract, expressed strong confidence in his decision to join the club in his first WBA TV interview.

The 33-year-old, whose playing career ended early at 25, has been targeting a managerial role and believes the timing and fit with Albion are “absolutely right.”

He highlighted the smooth recruitment process, positive interactions with club leadership, and the club’s rich history as key factors in his decision.

Mason aims to build a cohesive team that connects with the fans, unity among players, staff, and supporters to create a memorable era.

Drawing on his extensive coaching experience at Tottenham under high-profile managers like Pochettino, Mourinho, and Conte, Mason feels ready to implement his own vision while incorporating lessons from these mentors. He is excited to start and determined to lead Albion to success.

He said: “The history of the football club speaks for itself.

“The process over the last week or so has been great and I got a really good feeling from it. The time feels absolutely right for me personally to take an opportunity like this. I feel like Albion is a really good fit and I can’t wait to get started.

“My season at Spurs only finished in the last couple of weeks, so not that long ago. The process of coming here has gone really smoothly.

“I’ve spoken to the Chairman, Andrew Nestor, Ian Pearce and people on the board as well. There’s been a lot of dialogue and we’ve met in person. The feeling has just been good. You know when something feels right and that’s certainly been the case here.

“The last week, it’s run quite smoothly. There has been no doubt in my mind and I think it’s gone relatively quickly as well in terms of the season finishing not that long ago for me personally, so to get it wrapped up in the best part of a week, that’s relatively quick. I can’t wait to get started now.

“Obviously my playing career got cut short very early at the age of 25, so that probably accelerated the process of becoming a head coach. When you start coaching you have ambitions and you have goals and you start looking to the future, without taking your mind off the present.

“I had a great time at Tottenham in terms of my coaching career and I got exposed to many things. It finished on a really good note, but even before the end of this season, I felt the time was coming for me to branch out and look for opportunities elsewhere.

“Once the season finished, to have the opportunity to come to a club like this, not just with it’s recent history, but full history as well, it’s something that really excites me. I can’t wait to build a connection with the fans, get started and have a real good go at it.”

Mason is determined for Albion to be a side that is “together in every moment” and says it’s crucial the players, the coaching staff, club staff and the supporters are all “connected”.

He added: “Hopefully my side will be a winning side. That’s the ambition and that’s the goal. Most importantly, I want us to be a team that is together in every moment.

“I think it’s really important to tap into the fans as well because the fan base here is incredible and it always has been. I felt that as a player whenever I competed at the stadium. We want to create a team that has a connection with the fans.

“Everyone needs to feel part of something and that’s the most important thing. Ultimately, we also want to try and win every game.

“It’s a club that I just see as waiting. I’ve played against Albion in the Premier League and I’ve felt what they’re like and I’ve felt what the fans are like. I’ve felt what the football club is about.

“There’s a very long history here which goes back well before I was born. That’s not going to change, but hopefully we can create new history and be part of something special.

“I want to create a togetherness and hopefully we can create something that we can all remember.”

He talk about working or playing under the likes of Harry Redknapp, Mauricio Pochettino, Jose Mourinho, Antonio Conte and Ange Postecoglou.

West Brom’s new head coach believes he would have been “silly” not to take parts of their leadership or thoughts about football away, but also stated how confident he is in his own ideas and how best to apply them.

Ryan said: “I can bring all of the experiences I’ve had at Spurs into this role. I’ve been coaching for the best part of seven-and-a-half years now, which is a long time.

“Like I said before, I’ve been exposed to quite a lot at a young age, but in terms of coaching experience, I feel like I’ve accumulated quite a lot in different circumstances.

“I definitely feel ready for the opportunity and have done for quite a long time now. It’s just been about picking a club that I feel like I can align myself with and take forward. It’s exciting and I really can’t wait to get started. There’s a lot of work and a lot of effort that’s going to go into it and hopefully we can bring success to the football club.

“I’d be silly not to take bits from all the people I have worked with, not only as a player but as a coach too. I’ve had exposure to some of the best managers in the world and I don’t take that for granted.

“I know myself as well and I know my core beliefs, whether that was when I was a player or now as a coach. I’ll add that to the multiple things I’ve taken from people I’ve worked under and I think that will definitely help me.

“Working under those managers has probably made me find myself a little more clearly and understand what I believe in and what I want to implement in my team. Like I say, taking on a role like this is something that I’ve felt ready for for a while now and the timing just feels absolutely right.”

Twitter users reacted as Ryan Mason gives his first sit down interview as new West Brom head coach and reflects on his career…

@mattraymond87: 100 percent behind him, fresh take, fresh ideas – fresh start.

@Nikolaiwilliam9: That he referred to us as his team and our fans I love the bloke give him a statue NOW 😂

@WestBromAholic: I love him. “The Albion” “we have good fans”

@JamesHamiltonGK: Came across well in this video. There was a lot of building a team to win games rather than focusing on a style of play . I don’t think TM fully understood the players cannot do what he wanted them to do . Mason in this interview gives me hope he will be more adaptable

@danwba_: A lot different to interviews we’ve seen before, emphasis on building a ‘winning’ team and no mention on targets for promotion etc, neither his preferred playing style. I like it personally.

@uber_foods: Some nice sound bites but I don’t really feel I learned much about him. Would have been nice to maybe get a feel for his preferred style and approach, but appreciate he needs to evaluate his squad first and manage expectations. Onwards and upwards #wba

@wbaethan: My word. I’ll go to war for you Ryan. You have my backing forever and a day

@DAWS_ON_: No mention of promotion/playoffs.. definitely been told not to say anything along them lines.. he’s here to build.. we need to get behind him #wba

@baggie1971: Fully Behind you Boss 🤝

We’re going up pic.twitter.com/s5PxFsC3bl

— JD WBA 𓅪 (@JDWBA2) June 5, 2025