Middlesbrough v West Brom preview: Championship's demands no surprise for Albion's Ryan Mason
Ryan Mason is still new to Championship management but the demands it poses come as no shock.
The Albion boss takes his side to the north east tonight to face unbeaten table-toppers Middlesbrough in what is, at least on paper, the toughest test of the season to date.
The demands of a 46-game Championship season are well-publicised, with Mason's Albion yet to feel the challenge of a 'three-game week' in the league - though midweek away fixtures at Norwich and Watford come next month, the latter followed by an early kick-off in Ipswich barely 60 hours later. Generally the strongest squads prevail.
Albion do not have the biggest roster in the second tier this season, and the club's plan to build a flexible, broad squad to cope will be tested in the weeks ahead.
Mason, whose side are looking to fight back from a first league defeat against Derby, pinpointed battling qualities and a togetherness across the course of a long, hard season as traits that will see a team succeed. The Baggies' class of 2025/26, featuring almost an entirely new backline, have already shown signs of that in an encouraging start overall.
"It's not a surprise," Mason said when asked about the division. "I've played it, so I've felt it. I'm a football fan, so I've been watching the Championship, League One and League Two for many years now.
"It's demanding. You saw this week with the Carabao Cup game (Swansea against Nottingham Forest), it's never over until the referee blows the whistle.