Ange Postecoglou has already told West Brom one major improvement Ryan Mason will make

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Ryan Mason was confirmed as the new West Bromwich Albion manager on Monday evening, and supporters can get excited by one tactical element he will bring to the Hawthorns.

West Brom sacked Tony Mowbray in April, but it quickly became apparent that Ryan Mason was their leading candidate to take over at the Hawthorns.

The 33-year-old, who has worked under Ange Postecoglou as an assistant coach at Tottenham, has only taken charge of 12 matches in his managerial career.

Some West Brom fans were left confused by links to Mason initially, as the club previously said they make decisions based on data when there is hardly anything to go by regarding the Englishman’s career.

But with the promise of a front-foot, possession-based style being deployed by Mason, there’s one other feature to his game that will get fans excited.

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Ange Postecoglou once praised Ryan Mason’s attacking set-pieces

West Brom are notoriously a strong team from set-pieces, often ranking among the top teams for converting dead balls during their Premier League days.

With tall and physically imposing centre-backs to get on the end of wicked deliveries, free kicks and corners are historically their bread and butter.

Last season, the Baggies scored 14 goals from set-piece situations, ranking them ninth in the Championship.

But at the start of the campaign under Carlos Corberan, West Brom struggled to convert from dead balls, despite boasting several six-foot plus players in their ranks.

Now, with Mason becoming their new manager, Spurs manager Postecoglou has already said he will bring an excellent knowledge of set-pieces to the Hawthorns, praising his assistant as ‘outstanding’ in January 2024.

“Ryan Mason is in charge of set pieces, he’s done an outstanding job all year and Mile [Jedinak], I thought in defensive set-pieces we were brilliant again because they have a threat there,” Postecoglou admitted.

“We’ve been good in that space all year and it’s a credit to both those coaches.”

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Tottenham’s set-piece record in 2022/23 was brilliant

Tottenham have always been solid from dead ball situations, and during the 2022/23 Premier League campaign, they ranked second for most goals scored from set-pieces.

Most goals scored from set-pieces (Premier League – 2022/23)

• Liverpool (17)
• Tottenham (16)
• Brentford (16)
• Arsenal (15)
• Manchester City (14)

Ironically, Spurs’ ranking second for that metric happened when Mason started having more of an influence on set-pieces.

Now, following his move to West Brom, he will want to implement this tactic and hopefully make them one of the most threatening teams in the division.