Ryan Lowe: ‘I seemed destined for Latics hotseat’

Ryan Lowe on his fresh challenge

By Chris Dunlavy

Ryan Lowe didn’t ask Paul Cook for any advice before taking charge at Wigan Athletic last week.

“Not that I didn’t want it,” explains the former Preston North End, Plymouth Argyle and Bury boss, who was appointed on a three-year-and-a-half deal to replace Shaun Maloney.

“But you have to be a bit coy in these situations, don’t you?

“If I’d rung him up and he’d gone ‘I’m in for the job’, that would have been pretty awkward!”

LEARNING CURVE: Ryan Lowe celebrates promotion with Bury in 2019 and, inset, on the touchline as manager of Preston
PICTURE: Alamy

Influential

Fortunately, Cook – who led Wigan into the Championship in 2018 – turned out to be perfectly content in his current role at Chesterfield and the pair had plenty of time for a catch up after Lowe was unveiled.

“We spoke afterwards and I actually told him that he’d been pretty influential in me taking the job,” says Lowe of his fellow scouser.

“Because I was always up there when he was manager.

“In my younger days at Bury, Paul often invited me in to watch them train and get some ideas and just see how everything works.

“That gave me a great insight into what this club was about when Dave Whelan and David Sharpe were here.

INFLUENTIAL: Paul Cook

Destined

“I also did my Pro Licence with Leam Richardson.

“He always spoke very highly of Wigan to me when he was manager here.

“Max Power, who played here for a number of years, is a mate of mine – we played together at Tranmere when he was a kid.

“So I always had a really good feel for Wigan Athletic.

“It was as if it was always destined to be my next club without me really knowing it, if that makes sense.

“Maybe that’s why it felt so right.

“Truth be known, I’ve turned down clubs from League Two to the Championship since I left Preston in August because I wanted something that felt good to me.

“Wigan did – but it always has.”

Break

Lowe’s return to management comes seven months after he departed Deepdale in the face of increasing hostility from supporters frustrated by Preston’s mid-table stasis and the perceived negativity of their manager’s tactics.

It is an episode the 46-year-old is not keen to revisit, but one about which he has no regrets after a period of rest and reflection.

“I’m not going to lie, it was great to have a break,” admits Lowe, who scored 212 goals in 708 career appearances for the likes of Shrewsbury, Bury and Sheffield Wednesday.

“Being a professional footballer for 20 years, and then straight into seven years of coaching – it’s hard work, and the strain on you is tough to be going consistently for all that time.

“It was lovely to spend some time with my family and the kids and – without sounding big-headed – to reflect on the good jobs I’ve done over the years.

“Getting promoted with Bury when they were in financial turmoil, going down to Plymouth when they were practically bottom of League Two, getting them out at the first attempt and then going to Preston.

“To have three top-half finishes with Preston on what was a bottom-four budget, to finish tenth and get 63 points I think we did an unbelievable job and I look back with nothing but pride at my time there.”

Old mate

Lowe takes charge of a Wigan side that was hard to beat but desperately toothless under Maloney, and fixing that disparity will be key to rubber-stamping a League One status that has never looked in serious jeopardy.

Amongst the Latics’ remaining fixtures is a trip to face play-off chasers Bolton Wanderers, where his old mate and former Plymouth assistant Steven Schumacher has just taken charge following a brief, bruising spell at Stoke.

“He was a bit scarred by that but he’s got a smile back on his face which I’m really pleased about,” says Lowe.

“He’s a great coach, a great person and I wish him all the best aside from those 90 minutes.

“As I’ve always said when we’ve come up against each other, we’re the best of mates and football will never get in the way of our friendship.

“But we’re both competitive.

“We’ll both be kicking every ball.

“It’s a local derby and that’s what matters.

“When the two of us play, it’s not about me and Schuey – it’s about two football clubs fighting for the points.”

PAL: Steven Schumacher

Aligned

Thereafter, the focus will turn to next season when the departure of champions-elect Birmingham – and possibly Wrexham – should make for a more open promotion race. Can Wigan join it?

“At this moment, the clubs up there are spending Championship money,” says Lowe.

“We’re not at that level yet and we won’t be any time soon.

“But our aim will be to get there, however long that takes,

“Over the summer I’ll be working closely with (sporting director) Gregor Rioch to recruit the best players possible.

“He’s a great lad and we’re very aligned in what we want.

“That can help us next season have a top-half finish and hopefully the following season try and push on into the play-off spots.

“We’ll have to overachieve to do it, of course.

“Like I say, we’re not a Birmingham or a Wrexham.

“But in terms of overachieving, I think that’s what I’ve always done over the course of my career.

“This is a club that’s had some very bad luck over recent years, and that’s why they’ve been down to League One.

“But Wigan is a Championship club in my eyes and I’ve come here to bring those times back.”