Wigan Athletic: Ryan Lowe sets his Latics goals

New Wigan manager seeks to improve at tacking dimension

By Chris Dunlavy

Ryan Lowe has vowed to get shot-shy Wigan Athletic back on the offensive after taking charge at The Brick Community Stadium.

The 46-year-old replaces Latics legend Shaun Maloney, whose two-year reign was terminated earlier this month after a run of one win in seven games left the Latics 15th in League One.

Pre-weekend, Wigan boasted the second-best defensive record outside the top six, with just 34 goals conceded in 36 outings.

Unfortunately, their pitiful tally of 32 goals scored was lower than any other team in the division.

Bouncing

“It’s not rocket science,” Lowe, a former striker who scored 212 goals in 708 games before embarking on a managerial career with Bury, Plymouth Argyle and Preston North End, told Wigan Today.

“They’ve got a very good backline and fantastic young goalkeeper in Sam Tickle who’s been at the helm of that.

“But it’s at the other end of the pitch where I always want to outperform and outscore the opposition.

“It’s about scoring more goals and getting this place bouncing, because there’s been many times I’ve been here at this stadium and it’s been rocking.

“That will be the main focus between now and the end of the season, because I think we have some fantastic talent in this dressing room.

“Sometimes you just need a little bit of brushing up, a little tweak here and there. I’m a big believer that if you want to score, you can score. Hopefully I can get this right foot out and show them how it’s done!”

EXPERIENCE: Ryan Lowe as manager of Preston

Vision

Lowe guided cash-strapped Bury to promotion from League Two in 2019, and repeated the feat a year later with Plymouth.

Having led the Pilgrims to the summit of League One, he left to join Championship side Preston in December 2021 and notched finishes of 13th, 12th and 10th before growing hostility from supporters prompted his resignation just 24 hours into the current campaign.

“People might look at this as a step down to League One,” said Lowe, who will officially take charge tomorrow and be assisted by an interim coaching team of Glenn Whelan, Frankie Bunn and Graham Barrow.

“But sometimes, if the plan and the strategy is there, you can get where you want to get to.

“That’s the vision the ownership group has shown me and I’m really happy to be a part of it.”

Experience

Wigan’s managing director Sarah Guilfoyle said: “We have followed Ryan’s career for some time and he adds great experience at this level during his time as both a player and a manager.

“We received an incredible amount of interest in the role and it was important we gave each applicant the respect and due consideration that they deserved.

Guilfoyle added: “We underwent a thorough recruitment process to ensure that we appointed the right person for the next stage of our journey.

“Having a succession plan is a vital part of football, irrespective of how the team is performing.

“Ryan was the stand-out candidate who has a clear vision of how he wants to take the football club forward.”