New Albion boss Mason club's 'top choice' - Nestor

Andrew Nestor (right) appointed Ryan Mason as head coach last month

West Bromwich Albion sporting director Andrew Nestor says Ryan Mason was the club's first choice to be their new head coach after the sacking of Tony Mowbray.

Mowbray was relieved of his duties in April following Albion's home loss to Derby County with the club appointing former player James Morrison as interim boss for the final two games of the campaign.

After a disappointing run of five defeats from their final eight matches, Albion finished the season ninth in the Championship, four points off the play-off positions.

They have now turned to rookie boss Mason, 34, embarking on his first permanent head coach role after two brief spells as caretaker at Tottenham in 2021 and 2023.

"We had other candidates but as we got to engage with Ryan and have discussions he became our top choice," Nestor told BBC Radio WM.

"It was a smooth process once we had the chance to engage with him.

"Obviously he was very busy with a great Europa League run. Once we had permission, we had a high level discussion around the vision for the club and the vision for his career.

"We got more granular through that process in terms of the tactics, the day-to-day operations, alignment along the different sporting departments, as well as staff."

Albion's poor form at the back end of last season, combined with a style of play which many fans had become disillusioned with, was a key reason behind Mason's appointment and a seeming change in strategy.

"First and foremost, there's a very clear alignment in our playing model and the kind of squad we want to keep evolving and building," Nestor added.

"Otherwise he [Mason] wouldn't have been a top choice - there has to be that alignment. We have a very structured process around player recruitment and scouting. Ryan's input is very important to that.

"For every position, we have a shadow squad - a list of players we like and if there is an outgoing, those are players that we would approach and that continues to change on a daily basis.

"Myself, [director of football operations] Ian Pearce, [head of technical scouting] Dan Sale and Ryan were all aligned on what the squad needs going into next season. Last season, there was a lot of turnover and frankly we needed that to address the PSR (profit and sustainability rules) deficit.

"But we also wanted to address the playing style, to get the team younger, start to invest into assets that will have future value but will really impact the first-team straight away and create a better squad balance."

BBC Radio WM's Steve Hermon will be joining the Baggies on their pre-season trip to Austria next week and compiling a 'Daily Diary' which you will be able to read here.