Ryan Mason Returns 'Back Home' to Tottenham as He Starts New Coaching Role After Early Retirement

Former Tottenham midfielder Ryan Mason has returned to the club following his early retirement from the game in February.

Mason was forced to take the decision to retire after fracturing his skill against Hull City last season. The 26-year-old is taking a positive outlook though and sees his retirement as an opportunity to get a head start on the coaching ladder.

In an interview with tottenhamhotspur.com, Mason opened up about life after football and revealed how happy he is with his new voluntary coaching role within the Tottenham academy.

"I’m happy, that’s the most important thing,” said Mason.

“I’m alive and I’m happy. It’s a whole new challenge that I’m stepping into now - I’ve done bits of media, I’m doing coaching, it’s just the next step in my career. 

"To be honest I was hoping it would be at 35 or 36 years old but I’m 26, it’s happened, I’ve got a head-start on everyone and I’m keen to make the most of the next 10 years.

“I’ve always been positive throughout the whole injury. That’s the reality. It’s the best way to be - positive. I’m excited for the future now.”

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Mason has now returned to Hotspur Way, Tottenham's training ground, to assist with coaching the Under-23s on a voluntary basis as he looks to progress on the coaching ladder. The former midfielder, who also played for Hull City, said it was a 'no-brainer' to accept the new role.

“I’m enjoying it,” he said, "I’ve been in a couple of weeks now and it’s a great thing to be starting the next chapter. I’m fortunate enough to be in a position where the club have offered their help so it was a no-brainer to come back in and at the same time get cracking with my badges.

"At the moment I’m just observing as much as I can. I’ve joined in with little bits and taken little bits as well. I’m doing work with the young boys, with the reserves [Under-23s], with everyone, so I can hopefully pass on my knowledge and help them out.

“I don’t know where I want to go with it yet. If you were to say, ‘would I be a manager?’, I don’t know. I don’t know whether I want to stay coaching kids. It’s just a case of coming in, finding the path and seeing where I want to go with it all but I’m loving it, I’m loving being back out there and being involved with football - especially here as well because it’s all I’ve known for so long. It’s good to be back home.”

Mason has a positive outlook on the rest of his career, viewing his early retirement as an opportunity to get ahead of his former team mates on the coaching pathway and is relishing his new challenge.

“I‘ve always stayed in contact with people here,” he explained. “I was at the club for 18 years and even though I left to go to Hull, the club never left me. 

"It’s always been my club, I was always keen to come back and when that opportunity arose it wasn’t a case of thinking that I needed time, I was keen to get back in and get started as soon as possible.

“I think it was just a case of when (he’d move into coaching) to be honest. As a player, I was always keen on helping the young lads. I had a unique situation of coming through the Academy into the first team and I was always keen to speak to the young boys at the club and try to help them make that step. 

"Obviously it’s come a lot sooner than I expected but at the same time it’s a fresh challenge and I’m just looking forward to hopefully helping people make that next step and become Premier League players.”