Why ex-Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou may have one eye on West Brom vs Birmingham City | OneFootball

Ryan Mason and Chris Davies worked alongside each other under the Australian at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium

With no international breaks until March, all 24 clubs across the Championship will aim to build as much momentum as possible ahead of the final weeks and months of the season.

At the beginning of the campaign, both West Bromwich Albion and Birmingham City were the subject of intriguing predictions made by those willing to stick their heads above the parapet.

It was all change at The Hawthorns over the summer, with Ryan Mason installed as the latest man to take up the position of leading the Baggies on a permanent basis after a chaotic campaign in terms of permanent or interim bosses, which was one of many factors which led to a disappointing end to last season and a ninth-place finish overall.

Blues, meanwhile, continued to spark major discourse, as has become customary ever since Chris Davies walked through the door at St. Andrew's @ Knighthead Park in June 2024 ahead of their record-breaking League One campaign, with Knighthead Capital Management continuing to heavily back the 40-year-old in the transfer market.

Three-and-a-half months of football have since been played, and it is Birmingham who hold a three-point advantage ahead of Wednesday's fixture in B71, which is set to generate another hostile and electric atmosphere between the two sets of supporters.

Aside from their own aims for the season and the local pride at stake, there is bound to be a showing of mutual respect between the duo on the touchline, which also means their former Tottenham Hotspur boss, Ange Postecoglou, could be keeping across developments with a high level of intrigue.

Ange Postecoglou has spoken highly of both Ryan Mason and Chris Davies amid Tottenham Hotspur stints

Despite being the subject of recent ridicule for how his two-year spell in North London drew to a close despite a UEFA Europa League triumph before a disastrous 38-day tenure with Nottingham Forest, Ange Postecoglou remains a very-much respected figure in the game.

The Australian was hugely successful with Celtic between 2021 and 2023, a club which Davies is also no stranger to, having worked at Parkhead under Brendan Rodgers beforehand.

Despite there being no prior crossover between the two, Postecoglou moved to appoint the former Liverpool and Leicester City assistant at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium ahead of the 2023/24 season, where he would also link up with Mason, whose association with Spurs needs very little introduction, having played for, coached and taken interim charge of Spurs throughout his career.

Spurs, of course, developed a reputation for playing an extremely notorious brand of football throughout Postecoglou's tenure, which resulted in a fifth-place finish in his first season, missing out on UEFA Champions League qualification, before returning to the competition for this season through beating Manchester United in the Europa League final despite a 17th-place finish.

In the midst of the most contrasting of seasons in North London, Davies was breaking all kinds of records at St. Andrew's in his first season as a manager with Blues, and he certainly caught the eye of his former boss after promotion was initially secured against Peterborough United on April 8th.

“I really enjoyed working with Chris. He was only with me for a short time last year, but I really enjoyed working with him. He was a big part of what we built last year. It was ground zero in terms of building a whole football programme in a different direction and he was a big part of that," Postecoglou said.

“Your first job is pretty important when you’re trying to embark on a career as a senior manager, and he’s done brilliantly well, which is not surprising."

Throughout Spurs' Europa League triumph, Mason emerged as a key reason behind their run to the final in Bilbao against the Red Devils, as well as a prime candidate for several vacancies, before eventually departing the club alongside Postecoglou in June, days before taking over West Brom.

The Athens-born man was also extremely complimentary towards the ex-England midfielder when links to the Anderlecht vacancy arose in November 2024, saying: “I have always worked on the premise that part of my role is also developing coaches and it is something I take great pride in.

“Ryan is obviously someone who sees himself as one day taking that opportunity. It’s a really important decision for the guys. It’s not like we want them to leave and certainly with Ryan, he is doing a great job for us here.”

Chris Davies and Ryan Mason enter West Brom vs Birmingham City clash in differing circumstances

With both Mason and Davies in their first full-time managerial roles, not exactly every aspect has gone smoothly, as evidenced across varying points of the season.

The Blues boss debunked theories of back-to-back promotions whilst facing pressure in a patchy run of form between August and mid-October after yet another high-profile recruitment drive at St. Andrew's.

However, a run of four victories in six games has since changed the mood completely, with the 40-year-old making some extremely smart tweaks that have resulted in 12 goals being scored in the past three home games, as he attempts to back up such developments with a third away success of the campaign.

After an intriguing summer of recruitment and departures at The Hawthorns, Albion were among the early-season pace-setters, with the likes of Isaac Price gaining plenty of attention for his performances.

However, in the past two months, Baggies supporters have continuously bemoaned a lack of identity and style, with many already calling for Mason's job despite continued backing from owner, Shilen Patel, for the 34-year-old to turn the club's fortunes around over time.

Just two clean sheets and as many victories since August haven't helped the aforementioned cause, which suffered yet another setback in a 3-2 defeat to Coventry City on Saturday after being 2-0 up, meaning an immediate response will be on the agenda.