Alex Mowatt on the shock and excitement of Ryan Mason's West Brom impact
Alex Mowatt revealed Ryan Mason's first message as new Albion head coach left the squad surprised and excited.
Experienced midfielder Mowatt, 30, admitted to being taken aback by the clarity and tone of the new boss, 34.
Mason, the former Tottenham assistant, has made a significant impression on the Baggies squad since the players returned for pre-season. Albion, who are currently in Austria, face Ukraine's Dynamo Kyiv in a friendly on Friday (11am UK kick-off).
Mowatt, who has been with the Baggies since 2021, admitted to leaving the head coach's first team meeting with a sense of excitement and optimism among his colleagues.
"I remember all of us walking out and all of the lads were very excited with the way he was describing how he wants to play, how training's going to be - it's going to be tough," Mowatt told the Express & Star from Burgenland in Austria.
"He wants us to be all together as a team, working hard for each other, the lads came out and everyone said how well he spoke. Maybe there wasn't an expectation he'd speak so well, it's an exciting one."
Albion's pre-season tour coverage is in association with BHP Design
The Yorkshireman added: "Obviously you respect the manager straight away, but when he comes and speaks so well and so clearly about what he wants then it definitely helps us players.
"He drives the session. He's on to people for sloppy passes, stuff like that. It will definitely help us, we need that. We'll be better for it."
Mowatt was initially signed by his former Barnsley boss Valerien Ismael and Mason is a fifth permanent manager or head coach he has worked under at The Hawthorns.
Mason, the youngest Albion boss in a century, has caught the eye with his clarity on the training field, as witnessed by the Express & Star when granted exclusive training access this week.
"To be honest it shocked me when he first came in, how good he was at talking and getting his message across," Mowatt added.
"I think he's been really good. Training has been really good with its intensity and the gaffer drives that, which is what was needed.
"It helps massively. He is high in standards in training, so it's been really good so far.
"(As a player) You just roll with it (change) - sometimes you go from one extreme to the other, which maybe happened last season.
"Sometimes it's different to adapt to but it's about the right balance, and so far so good."
