Ryan Mason believes Albion are in an incredibly “intimate and intense” moment where the ultimate goal is to accelerate their progress as a team as quickly and as efficiently as possible.
The boss, his coaching staff, members of the club’s backroom staff and the players are out in the Bad Tatzmannsdorf area of eastern Austria on a week-long training camp where they’ve been hard at work preparing for the 2025/26 campaign.
The squad haven’t just been fine-tuning physical attributes, tactics and patterns of play on the pitch, they’ve also been strengthening bonds and building a “togetherness” off it during downtime around the hotel.
Mason says there are so many crucial benefits to a week away from the normal base and insists he’s seen several encouraging signs in terms of both football and comradery.
The boss said: “It’s a beautiful place, but we’ve had challenging weather. We had a really hot day on the first day and then we’ve had rain and wind to contend with. That’s all part of it.
“The boys have worked extremely hard and we’ve had a lot sessions and a lot of time together, which, at this stage of the season, is really important.
“It’s vital in any pre-season to have that intimacy and intensity where you’re with each other all day, you’re out on the pitch together training and you’re building bonds and relationships.
“I see that with the players when they’re playing cards together and doing things together, creating that team togetherness which ultimately, throughout the course of the season, we’re really going to need going forward. It’s been a really positive week so far.
“We’ve been doing a lot of work with the players. You want to lay as many foundations as possible. I understand that you can’t go too far ahead too soon, so we’ve been focusing on the principles and the foundations of what we want the team to look like and most importantly feel like. There’s been a lot of work and there’s still a lot of work to get through to continue to grow.
“For me, team togetherness is vital throughout the season. You’re going to need to suffer together in moments. When you can have that connection to your team-mates, that’s so important.
“Sometimes you can force it, but the thing I’ve probably enjoyed the most is that it’s happened organically. The coaches and I haven’t had to get involved. There seems to be, and it feels likes, there's that togetherness already.
“We’re happy with where the group is at physically and also in terms of taking on the information we’re giving them. We understand there’s still a lot of work to do and it’s something that will continue to grow over time. I’m sure it will evolve naturally.
“I don’t want to stand still and I don’t want the team to stand still. In these early phases it’s about laying foundations from a physical point of view and tactically in terms of what we expect the team to look like on a matchday. It’s gone well so far, but we understand there’s lots of work going forward that’s for sure.
“We’re in an intense period where we’re trying to build something and create something. The most important thing is focusing on us and what we want to look like and feel like.
“Obviously we have opponents and we know our fixtures and we’ll prepare for those closer to the time. In this period now, the ultimate goal is to accelerate our progress as a team as quickly as possible and to do it in the best way possible. That’s been the challenge and that will continue to be the challenge for the next few weeks.”
Mason is taking charge of a senior team in pre-season for the first time as a head coach.
The 34-year-old has previous experience of playing important roles in the organisation and management of tours during his time in both the academy and first team at previous club Tottenham Hotspur, but admitted he’s “loving” the responsibility of leading the Albion.
Ryan added: “Luckily for me I’ve had the experience and the exposure of the last couple of years of planning pre-seasons and delivering training. I’ve been involved in that process.
“It’s the first time I’ve been solely responsible for a first team. I’ve had it in academy football where it’s been my responsibility. In the last couple of seasons, a lot of the onus was on me and the other coaches to come up with the training programmes, so it feels normal and natural.
“Naturally, when it’s your team and it’s your responsibility, there’s more of a connection with it. That’s definitely been something that I’m loving and I’m sure over time that’ll grow. Hopefully the connection with the players will continue to grow as well.”
