What Ryan Mason said after West Brom's loss to Southampton has got many Baggies fans unhappy - 'he's well out of his depth' | OneFootball

Despite two second half goals, West Brom fell to a 3-2 defeat away to Southampton on Tuesday night

Ryan Mason's position as head coach of West Brom is hanging on by a thread following a 3-2 defeat away to Southampton on Tuesday night, with the Baggies succumbing to defeat despite two second-half goals from Karlan Grant and Nat Phillips.

Having started the season so brightly in what is his first role as a permanent head coach in professional football, Ryan Mason's tenure at West Brom is quickly becoming untenable.

The former Tottenham Hotspur and Hull City midfielder had previously acted as an interim head coach at Spurs following the dismissals of both Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte, and also was a part of Ange Postecoglou's staff as recently as last season, as the club defeated Manchester United to win the Europa League title.

Mason was appointed as head coach over the summer at West Brom, and at 34, he became the second-youngest head coach in the Championship following his arrival, a title which he still holds as Southampton replaced the 33-year-old Will Still with 32-year-old Tonda Eckert.

Mason indeed lacks the experience that many other head coaches/managers in the division possess, and with the Baggies lingering in 16th in the league table, that lack of experience has been at the heart of his criticism.

Following defeat away to the Saints on Tuesday night, Baggies fans have not held back their opinions on what the club should do regarding Mason's position, with the majority singing from the same hymn sheet at this stage.

West Brom fans react to Ryan Mason's post-match interview following latest defeat away to Southampton

Following their latest defeat to Southampton, Baggies fans have taken to social media to share their opinions on where the club finds itself and Mason's known.

West Brom may consider themselves unlucky to come away from the game with nothing, having outshot Southampton by 18 shots to 8 with a superior expected goals tally. However, many fans will not care too much about the underlying statistics and will only care about the actual result, which is reflected in many of their replies to Mason's interview.

Whilst Mason comes across well to many, niceness doesn't go very far in the business of being a head-coach, and if he fails to pick up the club's form in the next short period of time, he will likely find himself out of a job.

Many West Brom fans share the rhetoric that a change in the dugout needs to be made sooner rather than later, otherwise the club may be cut adrift and find themselves in an unfamiliar position of a relegation battle.

Like others, this Baggies fan recognises that Mason is a likeable person and that he means well, although he unfortunately also thinks that he is out of his depth as boss of West Brom, which, in this industry, counts for much more than merely being likeable.

The image of a corner flag is infamous among many football fans, as it usually signifies a club statement being released, and in many instances a head-coach being dismissed from their role, which is what this West Brom fans is insinuating here.

A damning assessment from this Baggie, who has clearly had enough of Mason in The Hawthorns dugout and wants to see immediate change, believing that even the former Spurs man knows that he is not best-suited for the role and should walk away from the club instead of being sacked.

Mason's role as head-coach of West Brom may well be in their final days, with a home clash against Sheffield United on Friday night likely being the be-all and end-all for him, with it being unlikely that he will be dismissed before then.

On the whole, West Brom's performances under Mason have not been as bad as the table suggests, but when it comes down to it, the most important table is undeniably the actual league table, and as it stands, the Baggies are majorly underperforming.

With the likes of Aune Heggebo, Karlan Grant, Mikey Johnston, Samuel Iling-Junior and Isaac Price in attack, Mason is simply not getting the best out of his squad at the moment, which may well cost him his job.

His decision to drop Josh Griffiths for Joe Wildsmith against QPR massively backfired, with Wildsmith at fault for the third goal, having been let off the hook moments before, and then conceded three away to Southampton, making it six goals conceded in two games for the former Sheffield Wednesday keeper.

Decisions like these can cost managers/head coaches their jobs, and with Friday night's game likely to be a telling one for Mason, it's crucial that he makes the correct decisions to avoid losing his job with the Baggies.