Why Ryan Mason staying at Tottenham is excellent news
By Gary Pearson
According to the Athletic, Ryan Mason is expected to take an assistant coaching role at Tottenham and put to bed any rumours of leaving to manage a Championship side.
Mason’s purported decision to stay at Tottenham is excellent news for the club. Mason has built steadfast, unbreakable bonds with most of the club’s leadership group, including Harry Kane, Son Heung-min, Eric Dier, Pierre Hojbjerg, Oliver Skipp, and more.
Mason will be Ange Postecoglou’s interpersonal conduit, the man on the inside offering expert insight to the new manager about the player’s characteristics, personality traits, and another key variables necessary for eliciting the best from each player.
Unlike many world-class managers (not saying he is in that illustrious club yet), Postecoglou keeps his distance from players and doesn’t spend much personal time with them. He feels keeping his distance makes his decisions more pragmatic and better for the collective.
It provides clarity, avoiding any possible emotionally fuelled decisions.
However, it’s crucial for Postecoglou to have a coach on his staff who acutely understands what makes each player tick, both on and off the pitch.
Mason’s expertise will be invaluable on that front.
Rumours were swirling about the prospect of Mason taking a head coaching role at a Championship side. And there was merit in those rumours, as Mason has coached at Tottenham in some capacity since 2019.
He joined briefly as a technical coach in 2019, only one year removed from hanging up his boots on his playing career. He has worked under various gaffers, including Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte.
That’s a pretty impressive coaching CV, particularly considering he’s still only 31 years old.
So there was a decent chance he’d take what he learned from Spurs and forge a career path elsewhere, getting much-needed time in the big boss’ chair.
He is, however, Tottenham through and through, playing for the club intermittently for seven years until leaving permanently for Hull in 2017.
Mason is a long-time, loyal club servant whose coaching style and overall philosophy closely align with Postecoglou, creating the fundamental building blocks of a fruitful relationship.
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And hopefully, he won’t be asked to take the helm as the team’s interim manager any time soon.