West Bromwich Albion are delighted to confirm the appointment of Ryan Mason as men’s first team Head Coach.
The 33-year-old has signed a three-year contract at The Hawthorns and arrives from Tottenham Hotspur, where he was Ange Postecoglou’s assistant and helped lead the team to success in the 2024/25 UEFA Europa League.
Mason is highly respected as a coach, having held various positions with Spurs’ first team and academy, including twice taking interim charge.
The new boss played under Harry Redknapp and Mauricio Pochettino, and the Argentine is a major influence on Ryan to this day. A serious head injury forced an early retirement, but he quickly rose through the coaching ranks of Tottenham’s academy.
Following the departure of Jose Mourinho in April 2021, he became the youngest manager to oversee a Premier League game, aged 29, going on to win four of the final six league games of the season, alongside taking charge of the League Cup Final against Manchester City.
Later that year, Antonio Conte promoted Mason to First Team Coach, and the team went on to achieve Champions League qualification. Mason had a second spell as Interim Head Coach at the end of the 2022/23 campaign, and has since been a key member of Postecoglou’s group over the last two seasons as Assistant Coach - ending their time together successfully by lifting a European trophy.
Nigel Gibbs has been named men’s first team Assistant Head Coach, joining from Reading.
Gibbs worked closely with Albion’s new boss at Spurs as Assistant when Mason was Head of Player Development, and supported as First Team Coach during Ryan’s interim managerial duties. He has extensive senior coaching experience at clubs including Watford, Millwall, Leeds United, Swansea City and Asteras Tripolis.
Albion have also appointed Sam Pooley as Men’s First Team Coach / Head of Performance. He arrives from Rangers, where he was Head of Performance - following several years as Head of Sports Science and First Team Sports Scientist at Spurs.
Gibbs and Pooley link up with James Morrison, Damià Abella and Boaz Myhill in forming the Baggies’ backroom staff.
Chairman Shilen Patel said: “We are delighted to welcome Ryan to The Hawthorns as our new Head Coach, along with Nigel and Sam.
“We have undertaken a thoughtful and expansive search and Ryan always stood out to us among an incredibly strong group of candidates.
“We are excited to have someone whose skillset means he has the aptitude to help us further establish elite standards in both preparation and player development for the first team and across all our team programmes.
“His experiences as both a first team player and coach under some of the game’s most respected minds, along with his time leading academy sides, will be instrumental as we shape a clear philosophy and unified identity at all levels at the Albion.”
Sporting Director Andrew Nestor added: “Ryan has had a unique and impressive football journey having played up to the highest level in the game, and developed his current game model under leading figures such as Mauricio Pochettino and FA Technical Director John McDermott.
“Following his retirement, he has honed his coaching abilities and his game tactics, working in recent years as part of Spurs’ academy with young and emerging talent, as well as with some of the best managers and players in world football at first team level.
“Ryan brings a style that will compliment and continue to evolve our club’s game model. His approach to match tactics, individual player and overall squad development informed by data and analytics makes him an ideal fit, and he joins us at an exciting time as we establish a new foundation for the future success of the Albion.
“The appointments of Ryan, Nigel, and Sam further strengthen the work that has been undertaken in advancing our sporting structures. This began last summer with the reinforcement of our scouting and operations set-ups, and has since continued through to performance, sports science and analytics, with the principle aim of creating a cohesive unit to deliver sustainable competitiveness for the club.”
You can also hear what Ryan has to say about his Hawthorns arrival here!