Ryan Mason's 1st-Team Berth with Tottenham Hotspur Should Be Set in Stone

Tottenham Hotspur take on Aston Villa on Sunday and questions over whether changes will be made to a team that has lost two league matches in a row prevail.

One man whose position is highly unlikely to be under threat is Ryan Mason. The central midfielder has been one of his team's most consistent performers since he broke into the side in late September.

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So effective has Mason been, the point when he should be regarded as an automatic starter in the first team has already come.

It has been a remarkable rise to prominence for the 23-year-old. One that, going by what he has produced so far, will not easily be halted.

After making his debut against NEC Nijmegen in the UEFA Cup in November 2008, injuries, mixed experiences in subsequent loan spells and the frequently changing situation at Tottenham left Mason's future up in the air.

"I’ve had injuries, there have been a few bad decisions, gone out on loan moves when maybe I should have stayed," he told the Daily Telegraph's Jason Burt last week. "But that’s been my path and it’s been for the right reasons. I just wanted to play. I was always eager to play."

With his fellow youth-team midfielders Nabil Bentaleb and Tom Carroll—a year or more younger than him—receiving more substantial playing opportunities, the outlook did not look rosy for Mason earlier in 2014. At least for those of us on the outside looking in.

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He clearly knew what he was worth, though, and his sustained self-belief ensured he was ready when an opportunity did come his way this past summer. The late return of team-mates who played at the World Cup meant Spurs' new head coach, Mauricio Pochettino, handed him playing time in pre-season.

Mason impressed sufficiently, and but for an injury in early August, he might have been handed a chance by Pochettino sooner than he was. When he got fit again, though, his confident and effective displays a month or two earlier had not been forgotten.

A match-salvaging appearance off the bench against Nottingham Forest suggested Mason was ready to come in. Four consecutive Premier League starts later, Pochettino's trust in him has been more than repaid.

There has undoubtedly been a lot of goodwill for Mason to do well. A home-grown talent making it always makes for a good story. In this case, the protagonist's wait for it has added to the tale's charm.

Make no mistake, though, each subsequent appearance has been earned.

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He grabbed the Forest game by the scruff of the neck with that superb long-range equaliser. That willingness to try and shape matches was seen again when he drove Spurs forward against Manchester City and Newcastle United. He was unlucky not to score against the former, and was involved in much of his side's most dangerous work against the latter—notably setting up Emmanuel Adebayor's opener.

"On a positive note I felt I did alright but we lost, so it’s bittersweet and I’m more gutted about losing," Mason told Tottenham's official website after the Man City loss. The quality of his performance was no small thing. As he had in his league debut against Arsenal, he had not looked out of his depth against the best sides and top-class counterparts such as Frank Lampard and Jack Wilshere.

Another big reason why Mason's starting place looks so secure is that no one else in the Spurs midfield has imposed themselves as well as he has this season.

To be fair, his box-to-box style lends itself to more eye-catching displays than the more restricted defensive role of Etienne Capoue. Even so, the conviction in his tackling and closing down and the eagerness to get involved and provide a passing option whenever he can has put many of his team-mate's efforts in the shade.

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Pochettino stressed in the aftermath of Mason's first-team introduction that neither the player nor anyone else should get too carried away.

"It is early to predict the future for Ryan Mason," Pochettino said, via the Daily Express' Matthew Dunn. "He needs to stay calm and understand that he needs to improve and progress in both his physical condition and his skill."

That remains the case a month on. Mason is still learning and there will inevitably be off days ahead.

His great first-half effort versus Newcastle did see him tire after the interval as the Magpies fought back. Their own central-midfield standout Moussa Sissoko demonstrated what it takes to impact a game for the best part of 90 minutes and not just periods of it.

Nonetheless, Mason's clear aptitude for this level and the impressive attitude that underpins it suggests he has what it takes to make this thing stick long term. With no one else providing a similar impact in the Tottenham midfield right now, it has undoubtedly earned him his spot in the short term.