Ryan Mason interview: West Brom boss on managing in the Premier League at 29, Antonio Conte and making history with Spurs

It is easy to forget Ryan Mason is still just 34 years old.

He has already, seemingly, lived a life in coaching and management. Two spells already as interim Tottenham boss, he also worked under Mauricio Pochettino, Jose Mourinho, Antonio Conte, Nuno and Ange Postecoglou.

There was also the Carabao Cup final in 2021, taking charge a week after the sacking of Mourinho – they lost 1-0 to Manchester City – in just his second game at the helm. At that time he was just 29.

He had, of course, been forced to retire at the age of 26, after suffering a fractured skull in a Premier League game while playing for Hull City against Chelsea in January 2017.

Now in charge at West Brom in the Championship, he was joined by Michael Dawson to discuss his start to senior management, who was his captain that fateful day at Stamford Bridge – and also the Spurs skipper when Mason broke through into the first team there.

Friday 26th September 7:00pm


Kick off 8:00pm

‘My retirement was premature, but everything happens for a reason’

“As you get older in your career, you start thinking about it, but I retired at a very young age, so it wasn’t really on my mind,” Mason told Dawson, ahead of West Brom’s clash with Leicester on Friday night, live on Sky Sports.

“I always thought I’d go into coaching, I always thought I’d end up back at Spurs helping the young players, because I felt the influence people had on me when I was young, so I always wanted to do that.

“For that to come when it did was premature, but everything happens for a reason and it opened up doors and opportunities to allow me to be in this position now.”

Dawson and Mason, the two old team-mates, are wandering around the pitch at The Hawthorns as they speak.

“As a player you were always a thinker. As a manager, is that exactly the same?” Dawson asks.

In typical Mason fashion, he pauses before shaping his response.

“Yes, I think that was probably one of my strengths as a player,” Mason says. “The physical side of the game meant I had to find my way around the pitch and understand it.

“The coaches you work with make you understand who you are and bring out your attributes and cement your beliefs in the game. Many different coaches have different beliefs, but when you have a variety of exposures and experiences, that can only benefit you.”

‘To manage in the Premier League at 29 was an incredible opportunity’

“You were the youngest manager to ever manage in the Premier League at the age of 29 on an interim basis,” Dawson says. “I remember I was at the Carabao Cup final when you took charge.

“To manage at that age, with players you had been playing with and were mates with, how did you handle that?”

Harry Kane, Heung-min Son and Lucas Moura all started that final for Spurs. While Dele Alli and Gareth Bale – the latter older than Mason and on loan from Real Madrid – came off the bench.

Mason replies: “It was an incredible opportunity, first of all. Obviously, unfortunate circumstances, but that’s football and you have to be ready. At that point, I’d been coaching for three and a half to four years, so in a weird way it felt natural and normal.

“To have that opportunity was great and it accelerated my desire to be in this position now. When you have a taste of it, it gives you a feeling of wanting more. It was something I’m grateful for.

“Probably only when I sit on a beach and think about it do I realise it’s a pretty cool thing to have done. At this stage of my career, it’s about trying to grow.”

Working with Conte & making history with Ange

It is quite the collection of managers he has worked under so far in his short coaching career.

While Conte’s spell at Spurs may not have reaped the rewards many hoped in terms of on-field success and trophies, Mason himself took a huge amount from his time on his staff.

“It was just everything with him,” he explains to Dawson. “Preparation. Detail. The way he lives his life. It’s engrossed in winning and can become contagious. He was amazing.”

Then there was the trophy with Postecoglou, and the desire to finally break out on his own that came with it.

“We created history together and we’ll be bonded forever because when you win with someone, that connection is never broken,” Mason says.

“In the last 12 months I had the desire [to go out on my own] and it felt like the time was right. I spoke to Ange and he advised me it needs to feel right, and when it does, go for it.

“I spoke to some clubs in the last 12 months, but nothing felt right. The way the season ended in Bilbao with Spurs was amazing. When I understood Albion were interested, it felt right. It’s a massive club with great history and impressive people. I felt a real alignment and connection straight away.

‘We want to impose ourselves’

Talk naturally turned to the big game on Friday night, as West Brom host Leicester at The Hawthorns.

The Baggies have suffered back-to-back defeats against Derby and Middlesbrough, Mason’s first two losses after starting with three wins and a draw, and he is determined to learn from those to help take the club forward.

“Against Leicester we’re going to try to be aggressive, take the game to them like we did in all our home games,” he says. “Against Derby I thought we were outstanding, as dominant as you can be without winning. That happens.

“Leicester are a good team with good individuals and a good coach. Every game you have to earn the right to win. We want to impose ourselves early, under the lights in front of our fans. We know they’ll bring energy, and it’s down to us to transmit that energy to them and hopefully get a positive result.

“It’s a club I’m determined to bring success to. It’s a tough league, but already I feel the club inside of me. We want to build and hopefully make it a success.”

Watch West Brom vs Leicester City live on Sky Sports Football from 7pm on Friday night; kick-off 8pm.