'Fire inside' Ryan Mason to script his own story after West Brom appointment
New Albion boss Ryan Mason is fired up to write his own chapter as a head coach.
Mason, 34, spoke to the press for the first time as Baggies' youngest boss in a century at The Hawthorns on Wednesday and emphasised his determination to move into a lead position after an long-term coaching role at Tottenham.
Albion's new head coach signed off from Spurs - where he coached since 2018 - with May's Europa League success over Manchester United in Bilbao, a night that confirmed Mason's opinion it was the end of his chapter with his boyhood club in north London.
"I've been coaching for such a long time now," Mason said. "I'm 34 now, I retired last game was as a 25-year-old and coaching since 26 so that's a sort of a seven or eight-year apprenticeship, which in normal circumstances is quite a long time, so I've probably done hundreds of games in the Premier League with Tottenham, European football, which is great.
"The timing is the most important thing. If I didn't feel the timing was right and I didn't feel absolutely ready and sure, then I would have waited, but that's not the case.
"I feel ready and most importantly, I feel like this football club's right, the people that I'm working with them for it feels right, it feels right already, and it's something that excites me.
"Obviously there's been been people (other clubs) who have been interested, but it didn't feel right. I had the opportunity to continue in Tottenham, that felt right at the time, but fast-forward two years, to have been part of what I was part of, which is obviously amazing, it's a part of history.
"Now I want to write my own script and that time and the club feel right, definitely."
Mason, who penned a three-year deal at The Hawthorns, added: "It feels natural, it feels normal already, and I feel at home. The people here are great inside the training ground and it's something that I've I'm going to give my absolute all to.
"It's obviously been accelerated in terms of my coaching career. I think every individual's different. 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. It was just about finding the next passion of mine, and it took a little bit of time.
"But once I found that the best part of seven years ago, (now) I definitely have a fire inside of me to be successful and fulfil the sort of dreams and ambitions that had as a player. So that's something that really excites me."
