Ryan Lowe says his next club will get a “better version” of him after his first managerial dismissal at Wigan Athletic, but admits he regrets leaving Preston North End after only one match of the 2024/25 season.
Lowe, who won League Two promotion with both Bury and Plymouth Argyle, was dismissed by Wigan before completing 12 months of a three-and-a-half-year contract.
“It was a tough gig,” he told the Sky Sports Essential EFL podcast.
His first season, 2024/25, was focused on keeping Wigan in the division. They collected 13 points from their opening 11 or 12 games and ultimately stayed up comfortably.
The following campaign was intended to be about challenging, but Lowe said the club’s budget had been benchmarked against figures from two years earlier. That left Wigan unable to compete for players with bigger clubs.
The team made a positive start before losing Ryan Trevitt, whom Lowe described as an influential and creative player around whom the side had been built. Injuries and poor key performance indicators then contributed to a difficult run.
“That’s not making excuses,” Lowe said. “There was a lot of stuff that I could have done better with and I know that, but so could a lot of other people who were there with me.”
He added: “When you’re being sacked, that was my first sacking and hopefully it’s my last. But I understood it. The results weren’t great. The performances were okay, the data was okay. We were still creating, but we weren’t clinical enough in front of goal.”
Before Wigan, Lowe guided Preston to two top-half finishes in the Championship during his full seasons in charge. He believes the club’s subsequent difficulties underline the scale of that achievement.
Paul Heckingbottom was sacked last month after keeping Preston in the Championship on the final day of his first season and finishing 14th last term.
“I know deep down I did a good job there,” Lowe said. “I’m a good manager in terms of overachieving on budgets.”
He cited a 0-0 draw at Norwich, achieved by playing five at the back in a 5-4-1 formation, as an example of his willingness to adapt.
Lowe accepts that leaving Preston after a 2-0 opening-day defeat by Sheffield United was badly timed. After questioning whether he could still do the job, he reached a “gentleman’s agreement” with chairman Peter Ridsdale to depart.
“I do regret leaving after one game,” he said. “But what I had to do was protect myself and my family at that time.”
Lowe now wants a long-term project rather than a short spell as a “firefighter”. He has managed 380 games, many in the Championship, and is seeking a club with supportive ownership and a good sporting director.
“Wherever I go next, they will be getting the best version of Ryan Lowe because I’m disappointed with what happened,” he said.
