West Brom move 'already feels a good fit' - Mason

Ryan Mason has signed a three-year contract at West Bromwich Albion

New West Bromwich Albion head coach Ryan Mason says he has been "ready for a while" to take his first managerial job and the Championship club "already feels like a good fit".

Mason, 33, was confirmed as the Baggies' boss on Monday following talks last week and has signed a three-year contract at The Hawthorns.

The former Tottenham midfielder, who won one cap for England, had been on the coaching staff at Spurs for the last seven years and finished his time in north London on a high by seeing Ange Postecoglou's side win the Europa League to end a seven-year wait for a trophy.

However, Mason is now looking forward to a new phase in his career.

"You know when something feels right and there's been no doubt in my mind," Mason said.

"The history of the club speaks for itself and then the process during the last week, I got a really good feeling from it. I feel already it's a really good fit."

Mason's move into coaching came after his playing career ended in 2018, aged just 26, after he suffered a fractured skull in a clash with Chelsea defender Gary Cahill the year before that required emergency surgery at the time.

Mason said that inevitably turned his attention towards becoming a manager.

"My playing career got cut very short so it accelerated the process of becoming a head coach," he told WBA TV.

"You have ambitions and goals and I had a great time at Tottenham and obviously finished on a really good note.

"I have felt ready for a while. I felt like the time was coming for me to branch out and try new opportunities."

Mason will be charged with reinvigorating an Albion side that finished four points outside the play-off places after a season that saw Carlos Corberan's abrupt departure for Valencia on Christmas Eve before Tony Mowbray's unsuccessful return ended with his sacking in April with two games left.

'Build something we can remember'

Although this will be Mason's first full-time head coach role, he had two interim spells in charge at Spurs - following the sacking of Jose Mourinho in April 2021 and again after Antonio Conte's departure in March 2023.

"You'd be silly not to take bits from the people I've worked with," he said. "I have had worked with some of the best managers in the world.

"I know my core beliefs and to add that to the multiple coaches I've worked with will help me.

"I've been a coach for the best part of seven and half years and I feel like I've accumulated quite a lot so I definitely felt ready for the opportunity."

Returning Albion to the Premier League for the first time since 2020-21 will be high on Mason's to-do list and he says he "wants to build a team that can win".

"I don't want to look too far ahead. The aim is to be successful and we need to come in every day with that ambition," he added.

"It's really important to tap into the fans - the fanbase is incredible - we want to create a team that has that connection.

"I see a club that's waiting - I felt that when I played them. There's a long history here, going back well before I was born and hopefully we can create new history - something that we can remember."