Ryan Mason says the overwhelming emotion he’ll feel stood in the home dugout on Saturday afternoon for his first competitive fixture as West Bromwich Albion’s head coach will be “pride”.
The 34-year-old, who was appointed in early June, leads his Baggies side into battle against Blackburn Rovers at The Hawthorns for what will be the club’s opening Sky Bet Championship clash of the 2025/26 campaign.
Mason says there’s plenty of excitement in the air and insists the whole group – coaching staff and players - are determined to give the supporters the perfect start to the new season.
The boss said: “My time at the club so far has felt like it’s gone reasonably quickly now that the start of the season is upon us.
“We feel ready to start the season well and put in performances which hopefully warrant us getting results.
“We’ve had time to try and implement things and it’s been quite an intense period doing that. The reality is, after five or six weeks of training, we’re still building towards that end product of how we want things to look. Hopefully we’ve laid enough foundations to get positive results and that’s what we’re working for.
“The feeling of excitement for the first day of a new season is similar as a head coach compared to when you’re a player. There’s a genuine excitement and we know what is coming.
“We feel ready, like I say. We have to be prepared for every aspect on Saturday afternoon and put in a performance which warrants winning the game of football.
“Feelings in football are important, and the way to generate a positive feeling to get results. We have two home games in four days to start the season and we want the fans to be with us. We want to give them a reason to get behind us as early as possible. The way to do that is by winning.
“I’ve been here (The Hawthorns) before as a player and the atmosphere that gets generated is extremely positive from a home point of view. It’s an incredible stadium. It’s down to us to generate that and get the fans with us through our performances.
“I know the fans will be supporting the players and supporting the club, but we want to build that connection as quickly as possible because we know how much it can benefit us.
“Pride is probably the first word that comes to mind when I think about standing in the home dugout for the first time. The feeling of pride has been the overwhelming feeling since I was appointed.
“I think that’s a natural feeling because of the history of the club, the size of the club and the fanbase that it has. Once that emotion goes, I have a job to do and I need to do that as best as possible.
“I’m determined to do that with the coaching staff and the players and we want to try and build something that creates a positive energy and get as many results as possible.”
Visitors Blackburn Rovers enjoyed a strong end to the previous term, going six matches unbeaten and finishing just one place and two points outside the top six.
Manager Valerien Ismael had a spell in charge of the Baggies between June 2021 and February 2022 and will return to The Hawthorns for the first time since his departure.
Mason believes Blackburn will have an “aggressive approach” to the encounter this weekend and has warned his team they’ll have to show “personality” and focus on their own style if they’re to come out victorious.
Ryan said: “We expect an aggressive approach from Blackburn on Saturday. Their approach has been quite consistent and we need to be ready for that.
“Ultimately, throughout the season, there will be opposition who will be strong and pose different threats, but the reality is we need to focus on ourselves as much as possible.
“We need to try and implement our philosophy and our style as quickly as possible. We know the opponents are always going to have strengths and threats, but we need to have a personality, believe in ourselves and focus on our game.”
