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  • yesterday
West Bromwich Albion are preparing for a fresh chapter under new head coach Ryan Mason, with hopes high that the Baggies can mount a serious push for promotion. After falling just short in their last campaign, Albion have turned to the highly regarded young manager to inject new energy and direction at The Hawthorns.
We spoke with Charlie Haffenden of the BirminghamWorld to explore what Mason’s appointment means for Albion’s ambitions.

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00:00West Bromwich Albion are preparing for a fresh chapter under new head coach Ryan Mason
00:07with hopes high that the baggies can mount a serious push for promotion.
00:13After falling just short in their last campaign,
00:16Albion have turned to the highly regarded young manager
00:18to inject new energy and direction at the Hawthorns.
00:23Mason inherits a side that already possesses a strong foundation,
00:27experienced championship players a solid spine
00:31and a fan base hungry for top-flight football once again.
00:35His task will be to refine their style, lift attacking output
00:38and build on the defensive organisation that made West Brom tough to beat last season.
00:44As the club enters a new era, the challenge is not just promotion
00:48but doing so with a clear identity.
00:51There's belief that Mason's arrival could be the start of a longer-term project
00:55aimed at stability, growth and a return to the Premier League on firmer footing.
01:01We spoke with Charlie Haffenden of Birmingham World
01:04to explore what Mason's appointment means for Albion's ambitions
01:09and how the club plans to build a promotion challenging squad
01:14capable of delivering across a full campaign.
01:17So, Charlie, starting with West Bromwich Albion and obviously Ryan Mason
01:23appointed as the next manager, a big statement.
01:27I mean, obviously, he's a manager coming in and he's fresh ideas.
01:31He's obviously got some fantastic experience in the top flight,
01:34the highest level.
01:36You know, he'd been trying to be poached before
01:38and he decided to stay on with Ange Postakar,
01:40who obviously helped deliver that Europa League,
01:42which was fantastic for them as a club.
01:44I mean, it all sort of makes sense, you feel, for all parties involved.
01:49It gives him the chance.
01:50It gives him a platform.
01:51It gives West Brom maybe this ambition that they need to go on
01:54and have a bit of a fresh start maybe over the last couple of seasons,
01:58obviously, with Carlos Corbran's exit
02:00and then the return of Mowbray not quite working out
02:03and them falling short.
02:04So, just firstly, your thoughts on Ryan Mason as manager
02:07and, you know, how are Albion fans feeling?
02:10What's the feeling around the Hawthorns ahead of the new campaign?
02:14I think it's a feeling of excitement.
02:16Obviously, it took so long to get the Tony Mowbray replacement in,
02:20but I think it was a lot of patience and consideration.
02:22Even with Mowbray, there was a lot of patience,
02:24but they made the wrong decision ultimately
02:26and I think they wanted to make sure
02:27that they made the right one this time around.
02:29They knew that the playoffs were already kind of over for last season
02:32and I think if next season they don't get in the playoffs,
02:35then this club could really just kind of be stalemated
02:38into the, stagnated in the championship rather.
02:41And Ryan Mason, he's not in a proper managerial role before
02:44and I think there are concerns over that.
02:46However, if you look at Chris Davies at Birmingham City,
02:48also coming from Tottenham, he's done so, so well.
02:52Ryan Mason as well, very highly thought of amongst the Tottenham
02:55backroom staff.
02:56And Posta Koglu, of course, not at the club anymore,
02:58but he really favoured having Mason amongst his coaching ranks.
03:01Of course, he was the one who took interim charge of Spurs
03:04on a couple of occasions.
03:06So, there's obviously a lot of trust there.
03:08Is he ready for management?
03:09It's difficult to say, isn't it?
03:10I think the jury will be out for quite a while.
03:13But it's quite positive that he's got quite a few relationships
03:15at Tottenham.
03:16Potentially, West Brom could take advantage of that
03:19in the transfer market.
03:20The likes of Mikey Moore and Jamie Donnelly
03:22have already been linked for potential loan moves.
03:25Those would both be fantastic signings, in my opinion,
03:27for West Brom, can really take them forward,
03:29give them a bit of young energy into that team.
03:31But I think just in terms of the squad overhaul,
03:34it's likely to happen as well.
03:35Having someone like Mason in there, who's quite raw,
03:38he's still quite young, seems to have a good tactical knowledge.
03:41I know that managers aren't necessarily that involved
03:43in their recruitment at West Brom,
03:45but I think they probably can tap into Mason's,
03:48maybe not experience because he hasn't got that,
03:51but he seems to have a decent mindset
03:53when it comes to it tactically.
03:55Yeah, they're obviously going to be hoping for this fresh start,
03:58but in terms of expectations, they will remain the same
04:00and if not, possibly go even higher.
04:03They want to make sure they are returning
04:05to the Premier League sooner rather than later.
04:08To fall short in the way they did,
04:10maybe that's what triggered this rebuild this summer,
04:14how important it was to get the right people in this summer.
04:17So in terms of expectations for West Brom,
04:20I'm sure there could be a little bit of leeway for Mason,
04:23but Baggy's fans are really going to be stubborn
04:26in terms of they're going to be expecting him
04:28to hit the ground running with this side
04:30and take them one step closer to returning to the top flight.
04:35Yeah, I think it's going to be tricky
04:36because it's going to be quite a squad overhaul
04:38in terms of transfers.
04:40Hopefully West Brom will be back to being at their best
04:42and can challenge for those playoff positions.

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