Latest news with #RyanLowe
BBC News
2 days ago
- Sport
- BBC News
A future-shaping summer for North End
If you're a Preston fan, you'll know the 2024-25 season was not one for the faint-hearted. We spent far too much of it glancing nervously over our shoulders, the play-off chatter of previous years replaced by the far less glamorous business of staying up. We got there - just - but not before the winds of change swept through Lowe's early-season exit felt like the end of a chapter. In came Paul Heckingbottom, a man who wasted no time telling it straight: the Championship is a "crazy" division, and Preston needed to toughen up if we were going to survive in summer has been all about laying foundations. Pre-season friendlies might not make headlines, the results are something we and Heckingbottom should pay little interest in. We saw a mix of the old guard and new faces, with a few academy lads making appearances too. The nine signings so far haven't been about flashy names; they've been about the right characters - something we've been good at over the past few years. Thierry Small's arrival, for example, brings pace and bite to a backline that will need both, and some potential to be a valuable course, we've said goodbye to a few too. It's never easy watching familiar names move on - it begs the question, are we going to miss those 12 goals from Emil Riis, or the leadership of Ryan Ledson? There's been a measured, not reckless approach to the window so far but I feel like we still need a little a fan, you can't help but dream — that's the deal we sign up for. I'm not predicting miracles but if we can sprinkle some creative sparkle and add a sharper edge up top, we might just swap those nervous glances down the table for ambitious ones up in what is the most competitive Championship we've seen in a long, long now, it's hope mixed with a bit of healthy caution — which, if you've followed Preston long enough, feels like home.
Powys County Times
02-08-2025
- Sport
- Powys County Times
Wigan boss Ryan Lowe heaps praise on two-goal midfielder Fraser Murray
Wigan head coach Ryan Lowe hailed two-goal midfielder Fraser Murray after the Latics kicked off their Sky Bet League One campaign with a 3-1 victory over Northampton. The summer signing from Kilmarnock scored Wigan's first and third goals, which sandwiched Jensen Weir's header at the end of the first half. Town pulled one back through Michael Forbes 20 minutes from time, but Wigan were very good value for the three points. 'Probably not many people will have known about Fraser, having been up in Scotland,' assessed Lowe. 'He probably went under the radar a little bit, but you can see he's got two good feet, with quality in each. 'You can see straight away the quality he has, he's different class, and I'm really pleased for him to have started so well.' Wigan could – and perhaps should – have won by even more, with Murray and Weir being denied by Town goalkeeper Lee Burge, and both Dara Costelloe and Paul Mullin fluffing their lines from great positions. 'It's obviously great to score three goals, although I'm disappointed with their goal, albeit it was a well-worked set-play,' said Lowe. 'Overall I thought the lads were fantastic, our set-plays were very good, and to score three goals and perform the way we did, I thought we were excellent. 'We could have scored even more goals…Dara's one, I thought he could have chested it, but he's headed it, and he's got too much on it if anything. 'That's what he gets for getting his hair cut on a Thursday…he should have left it growing! 'But the main thing is he's in those positions to begin with, and everyone can miss a chance no matter who you are. 'Mulls said the ball just got stuck under his feet at the end, but as long as we're creating chances, the goals will come – as we saw today.' For Cobblers boss Kevin Nolan, it was a very long day at the office. 'It's a tough start and I'm disappointed because a lot of the work that we've done in the summer didn't show today,' he said. 'Sometimes it happens in football and you can't put your finger on why but we'll certainly be looking at it in the next few days. 'We'll look at where we need to improve and we'll work on it. 'Sometimes it just comes down to winning those 50-50 duels and I felt we missed out on too many today. 'That's what upset me more than anything else. 'There was not a lot in the first half but we give away a really poor goal and then they score from a set-piece, which again I'm not happy about. People got things wrong. 'It's a new squad and we gave out 10 debuts today so it's a big turnaround but there are no excuses. 'We were beaten by a side who were better than us on the day and sometimes you have to take that on the chin.'
BBC News
02-08-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Wigan sign QPR defender Fox on two-year deal
Wigan Athletic have signed Queens Park Rangers left-back Morgan Fox on a two-year 31-year-old spent the past two seasons in the Championship with the Rs, playing a total of 48 games in all that, Fox was at Stoke City, playing 40 Championship games in 2022-23, and he has played almost 300 games in the second tier of English football, after starting out at Charlton Athletic and also playing for Sheffield was announced to Latics fans at half-time of their opening game of the season against Northampton Town at the Brick Community Stadium on coach Ryan Lowe told the club website:, external "Morgan is a fantastic addition to our football club. He has been playing regularly in the Championship for the majority of his career and will be a real asset to us both on and off the field."I have been a long-term admirer of Morgan, who I know will bring a lot of leadership and experience to the squad."
BBC News
31-07-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Wigan agree loan for Brentford midfielder Trevitt
Wigan Athletic have signed Brentford midfielder Ryan Trevitt on a season-long 22-year-old made his Premier League debut for the Bees as a late substitute in the defeat at Tottenham Hotspur last who came through the ranks at non-league Leatherhead before being picked up by Brentford, has also made four cup appearances for the spent the second half of last season on loan at Exeter City, his second spell with the Grecians after scoring five goals in 23 appearances for them in head coach Ryan Lowe told the club website, external: "He's another goalscoring midfielder, who I think will be vital for us going forward. He comes from a good pedigree, and I am really looking forward to working with him."I think he's a real coup for us - and we're really happy to have him on board."
BBC News
31-07-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
New signing Mullin reminiscent of myself
Wigan Athletic boss Ryan Lowe has likened new signing Paul Mullin to himself following the striker's move last 30, joined the Latics on a season-long loan from Wrexham, where he helped gain three successive promotions to take the club from the National League to the Championship in a meteoric rise and cement himself in club Mullin's influence on the pitch dwindled last season and he did not feature for The Red Dragons in the league after January."You only have to look at his record, he's scored 200 career goals and I see a little bit of resemblance to myself in Mulls because of what he's done and where he's come from at non-league right up to the Championship," Lowe told BBC Radio Manchester."Unfortunately, Wrexham wanted to go a different route and he's still contracted to them and we knew we could potentially get him in on loan."It was the first time I'd met him even though we live very close to each other. I did try and sign him at Plymouth a few years ago but he ended up going to Wrexham." Lowe, scorer of over 200 career goals during an 18-year playing career in his own right, also praised Mullin for his hunger in dropping down a division in order to play more first-team football this season."When there's a goal-scorer like that, of that ilk, it's important that I make sure I act on that and to be fair to Mulls with the conversation I had, there was only one club he wanted to come to and that was us."He could have sat on the bench at Wrexham and made some cameos but he's chose to come here and hopefully score loads of goals."Lowe also said he believes highly-rated 23-year-old goalkeeper Sam Tickle will be staying with the Latics for the upcoming season despite speculation linking him with a move away from the Brick Community Stadium."We've had no enquiries on Sam, there's a lot of interest and talk but we've had no official bids or anything that have come our way," Lowe added."Last season he was voted the best goalkeeper in the division. My challenge to Sam is go and do that again and be the best that he can be."I think Sam and I know that he's definitely going to be here for another year, he'll help where we want to get to and then if that's the case, he will probably go on to somewhere bigger and better and grace the Premier League."One more season with us will definitely help him."Wigan begin their League One campaign at home to Northampton Town on Saturday.
