Mahon, who is set to wear the number 25 shirt at the Hawthorns today, spent most of last season on loan to Second Division Promotion Winning Cardiff City after being left to rot in the reserves of Blackburn Rovers, hardly gaining a sniff of the first team squad.
Speaking to the East Anglian Daily Times, Mahon said : "It is rubbish for people to say loan players don't care. As a player I have come here to do well. It is my career and if I don't do well at a club then I could be out of work.
Mahon Ready for WBA Debut
"Every player wants to do the best they can, they want to score, they want to set up goals, that is what we do.If you don't do your best you will find yourself working in a factory or somewhere.
"When you go out on loan you have something to play for. Even when I was playing in Blackburn reserves I gave 100%, but when you are in the reserves sometimes your heart might not be quite in it, because you may feel you have been hard done by.
"Then, if you go to a club that wants you to play for them and you are enjoying your football again then you are going to give that bit more. You want to impress the crowd, the manager, the players around you and show you are worth your place in the team."