# Ryan Lowe
**Ryan Lowe** (born 1978, Liverpool) is an English football manager and former striker who has managed four [English Football League](https://www.edgepedia.org/english-football-league) clubs: Bury, Plymouth Argyle, Preston North End, and Wigan Athletic.[1](https://www.transfermarkt.us/ryan-lowe/stationen/trainer/57137/plus/1) • [2](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/c3rn1xn4d8ro) He won promotion from League Two with Bury in 2019 and with Plymouth Argyle in 2020, and was named League Two manager of the season for the Bury campaign.[3](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/48313431)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1978, Liverpool, England[1](https://www.transfermarkt.us/ryan-lowe/stationen/trainer/57137/plus/1) |
| Clubs managed | Bury (2018–2019), Plymouth Argyle (2019–2021), Preston North End (2021–2024), Wigan Athletic (2025–2026)[2](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/c3rn1xn4d8ro) |
| Promotions | League Two with Bury (2019) and Plymouth Argyle (2020)[3](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/48313431) • [4](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/cj3vp406l82o) |
| Individual honor | League Two manager of the season, 2018–19[3](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/48313431) |
| Best points-per-match record | 1.55 at Bury over 75 league matches (Jan 2018 – Jun 2019)[1](https://www.transfermarkt.us/ryan-lowe/stationen/trainer/57137/plus/1) |
| Preferred formation | 3-1-4-2; holds the UEFA Pro Licence[1](https://www.transfermarkt.us/ryan-lowe/stationen/trainer/57137/plus/1) |
| Last post | Wigan Athletic head coach, 12 March 2025 to 7 February 2026, 12 wins in 49 games[2](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/c3rn1xn4d8ro) • [4](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/cj3vp406l82o) |
## Playing career
Lowe came through Liverpool's youth setup as a boy and began his senior career in non-league football with [Southport](https://www.edgepedia.org/southport) and then Burscough before earning his Football League break.[5](https://www.lep.co.uk/sport/football/preston-north-end/ryan-lowes-journey-from-non-league-hotshot-to-highly-rated-efl-boss-3485890) He spent five years as a professional with Shrewsbury Town, leaving in 2005, followed by the first of two single-season spells at Chester.[5](https://www.lep.co.uk/sport/football/preston-north-end/ryan-lowes-journey-from-non-league-hotshot-to-highly-rated-efl-boss-3485890) A well-traveled striker, he finished his playing career at Bury, the club he made the most appearances for, retiring on 1 July 2018.[1](https://www.transfermarkt.us/ryan-lowe/stationen/trainer/57137/plus/1)
At Bury he was part of squads that won promotion to League One as a player in both 2011 and 2015.[3](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/48313431)
## Bury
Lowe's first managerial role was a caretaker spell at Bury from 31 October to 22 November 2017, covering six matches with two wins, two draws, and two defeats.[1](https://www.transfermarkt.us/ryan-lowe/stationen/trainer/57137/plus/1) He was appointed permanent manager on 15 January 2018.[6](https://www.soccerbase.com/teams/team.sd?teamTabs=managers&team_id=394)
In his one full season, 2018–19, he led Bury to second place in League Two and promotion to League One, despite the club's mounting off-field problems, including a winding-up petition and players frequently going unpaid.[3](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/48313431) He became the first person to win promotion with Bury as both a player and a manager.[3](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/48313431) He later described the campaign to [Sky Sports](https://www.edgepedia.org/sky-sports), saying the squad set one aim, promotion, while wages were delayed and senior staff left the club in March and April; he also defended his transfer spending, saying he brought in 12 or 13 players for around £1.2m and rejected claims that he had spent large sums.[7](https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11796679/ryan-lowe-opens-up-on-life-as-bury-manager-over-ambition-alarm-bells-promotion) Bury were expelled from the Football League that August over their debts, after his departure.[7](https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11796679/ryan-lowe-opens-up-on-life-as-bury-manager-over-ambition-alarm-bells-promotion)
Across his Bury tenure he recorded 32 wins, 20 draws, and 23 defeats in 75 matches, a points-per-match average of 1.55.[1](https://www.transfermarkt.us/ryan-lowe/stationen/trainer/57137/plus/1)
## Plymouth Argyle
Plymouth Argyle, relegated from League One on goal difference on the final day of the 2018–19 season, appointed Lowe on 5 June 2019 to replace Derek Adams, whose four-year reign had ended with a 5-1 defeat at Accrington Stanley.[3](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/48313431) His assistant at Bury, Steve Schumacher, joined him in the same role.[3](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/48313431)
Lowe won promotion from League Two with Plymouth in his first season, 2019–20, and built the side around an attacking, possession-based approach intended to out-score opponents.[4](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/cj3vp406l82o) • [8](https://argyle.life/first-team/analysis/race-to-home-park-ryan-lowe-analysed/) He left for Preston on 6 December 2021, having taken 128 matches at an average of 1.54 points per match with 57 wins.[1](https://www.transfermarkt.us/ryan-lowe/stationen/trainer/57137/plus/1)
## Preston North End
Preston North End appointed Lowe as manager on 7 December 2021, tasking him with pushing the Championship club toward the play-off places after Frankie McAvoy's departure.[5](https://www.lep.co.uk/sport/football/preston-north-end/ryan-lowes-journey-from-non-league-hotshot-to-highly-rated-efl-boss-3485890) His teams finished 13th, 12th, and 10th in the Championship across his three seasons.[4](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/cj3vp406l82o) Over 125 matches he recorded 47 wins, 30 draws, and 48 defeats, averaging 1.37 points per match.[1](https://www.transfermarkt.us/ryan-lowe/stationen/trainer/57137/plus/1)
He left on 12 August 2024, by mutual consent after asking to leave, just one match into the 2024–25 season, becoming the first managerial departure of that Championship campaign.[9](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/c990yxd90y5o) • [10](https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/ryan-lowe-preston-manager-sacked-replacement-championship-b2595043.html)
## Wigan Athletic
Wigan Athletic appointed Lowe as head coach on 12 March 2025 on a three-and-a-half-year contract, replacing [Shaun Maloney](https://www.edgepedia.org/shaun-maloney), with the club 15th in League One in its second season after relegation from the Championship.[2](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/c3rn1xn4d8ro) It was his fourth EFL managerial post.[2](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/c3rn1xn4d8ro) He guided Wigan to a 15th-placed finish at the end of 2024–25.[4](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/cj3vp406l82o)
The 2025–26 season deteriorated quickly. After an opening-day win over Northampton, Wigan took only three victories from 17 matches in all competitions between late August and late November, sliding from 11th on 2 December to 22nd, two points from safety, after 29 matches.[4](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/cj3vp406l82o) Wigan sacked him on 7 February 2026, 11 months into the role, immediately after a 6-1 defeat by Peterborough United that dropped the club into the relegation zone; he had won 12 of his 49 games in charge.[4](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/cj3vp406l82o) [Glenn Whelan](https://www.edgepedia.org/glenn-whelan) and Graham Barrow took interim charge.[4](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/cj3vp406l82o)
## Managerial record and style
Lowe's points-per-match averages have declined with each successive club: 1.55 at Bury, 1.54 at Plymouth, 1.37 at Preston, and 1.20 at Wigan.[1](https://www.transfermarkt.us/ryan-lowe/stationen/trainer/57137/plus/1) His strongest work came in the fourth and third tiers, where he won two promotions, while his Preston sides settled into mid-table Championship finishes without reaching the play-offs.[4](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/cj3vp406l82o) Transfermarkt lists his preferred formation as 3-1-4-2, a back-three system, and he holds the UEFA Pro Licence.[1](https://www.transfermarkt.us/ryan-lowe/stationen/trainer/57137/plus/1)
## References
1. [Ryan Lowe – History (Detailed view), Transfermarkt](https://www.transfermarkt.us/ryan-lowe/stationen/trainer/57137/plus/1)
2. [Wigan appoint ex-Preston boss Ryan Lowe as new head coach, BBC Sport](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/c3rn1xn4d8ro)
3. [Ryan Lowe: Plymouth Argyle appoint Bury manager as new boss, BBC Sport](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/48313431)
4. [Ryan Lowe: Wigan Athletic sack head coach after 11 months in charge, BBC Sport](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/cj3vp406l82o)
5. [Preston appoint Ryan Lowe: New PNE manager's journey from non-league hotshot to highly-rated EFL boss, Lancashire Evening Post](https://www.lep.co.uk/sport/football/preston-north-end/ryan-lowes-journey-from-non-league-hotshot-to-highly-rated-efl-boss-3485890)
6. [Bury Manager History, Soccerbase](https://www.soccerbase.com/teams/team.sd?teamTabs=managers&team_id=394)
7. [Ryan Lowe opens up on life as Bury manager: Over-ambition, alarm bells, promotion, Sky Sports](https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11796679/ryan-lowe-opens-up-on-life-as-bury-manager-over-ambition-alarm-bells-promotion)
8. [Race to Home Park: Ryan Lowe, Argyle Life](https://argyle.life/first-team/analysis/race-to-home-park-ryan-lowe-analysed/)
9. [Ryan Lowe: Preston part company with manager after opening match, BBC Sport](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/c990yxd90y5o)
10. [Preston boss Ryan Lowe leaves club just one game into new season, The Independent](https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/ryan-lowe-preston-manager-sacked-replacement-championship-b2595043.html)
---
*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Association football › Football people and teams › People › Managers and coaches › English managers and coaches › Historic English managers*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license