'I just felt' - Ryan Lowe breaks silence on Preston North End exit as view on next job outlined

Former Preston North End manager Ryan Lowe has opened up on his departure from Deepdale, two weeks on from the exit.

After defeat to Sheffield United, on the opening night of the 2024/25 campaign, Lowe pushed for his two-and-a-half year tenure to finish. North End subsequently parted ways with the Liverpudlian, who secured 13th, 12th and 10th placed finishes during his time at the helm. Now, Lowe has opened up on the decision to leave Preston - and why the timing was right in his eyes.

“I always said that if I didn’t feel I could take the club any further, I would show my hand,” Lowe told Sky Sports News on Wednesday night. “Throughout the summer I was thinking we could build a good squad, to compete and try get into the top six. We fell short of that last season, through injuries and whatnot - some KMIs which went against us, potentially.

“The pre-season, I’m thinking ‘Okay, I feel a good vibe about the place’ - we’d signed some good players. Then we were on with some more players, we couldn’t get some, we could get some. And then I spoke with Peter Ridsdale, who was a diamond by the way - and the chairman Craig Hemmings - and I just said: ‘Look, I think it’s about time I moved on and left the club to someone else.

“I felt that the players needed a fresh voice. We’d been there two-and-a-half years and I think that is long now, in a manager’s tenure. A great group of lads and a fantastic football club. But there were three things: me, myself and I... I wanted to look after me. There was looking after the players - a fantastic group.

“And looking after the football club, who gave me a brilliant opportunity to establish myself as a Championship manager - I will be very grateful for that. I just felt I’d leave it to someone else, like a Paul Heckingbottom - who has gone in and, I told you they needed a new voice, they’ve had a couple of good wins. When I spoke to Hecky, I told him the same thing... a fantastic club, fan base, everything about it.

“They just needed someone different than me. I mutually agreed with Peter; it was tough. Me, Craig and Peter, there was a bit of emotion in there when we were talking about it. I left a good group of staff behind and I wish them nothing but good luck. I just felt, for me, my family, the football club and the players, I think it was the right decision.”

As for what the future holds, Lowe added: “I am happy to take whatever comes along, as long as it’s the right fit. I have a couple of weeks’ break, been on a couple of holidays with the family and spent some time with them - which is important. But, as Gary (Rowett) will sit here and tell you, it gets boring and you want to get back in.

“You obviously don’t want to see people lose their jobs, but jobs will come up and what I’ll potentially do then is keep my eye for that and wait for the phone to ring. If a job came up over the next 24/48 hours and it was the right fit, I would jump straight back in because it’s certainly something that you miss.”