Exclusive: Wigan Athletic urged to make Ryan Lowe decision by Sky pundit - "I'm a really big fan" | OneFootball

The Latics have made an inconsistent start to the League One campaign

Sky Sports pundit and EFL expert Lee Hendrie has backed Wigan Athletic head coach Ryan Lowe to turn the tide at the Brick Community Stadium amid pressure from sections of supporters.

It has been an extremely inconsistent start to the League One campaign for the Latics, and one in which supporters were extremely confident regarding their side's expectations and fortunes over the coming months as Lowe embarked on his first full season in charge of the Lancashire outfit.

The 47-year-old was appointed back in March as a long-term replacement for modern-day club icon Shaun Maloney, who was somewhat controversially relieved of his duties, penning a three-and-a-half year contract in the process.

Wigan's recent pedigree at League One level and above has only played into the aforementioned strong expectation levels, with the club winning the third tier title back in 2016, 2018 and 2022 under Gary Caldwell, Paul Cook and Leam Richardson respectively.

In recent times, the main focus of the club has been stability, after suffering an eight-point deduction following relegation from the Championship in 2022, just two years after an initial penalty also resulted in relegation back to League One in heartbreaking circumstances.

However, with the club looking to progress forward, the Latics' performance levels have come under scrutiny at the beginning of the current season, as they are currently on a run of two wins across the past nine games in all competitions, currently finding themselves in 17th, just two points above the relegation zone after 12 games played.

Lee Hendrie backs Ryan Lowe to turn Wigan Athletic fortunes around amid fan pressure

The aforementioned run has also included five defeats in the past six games, two of which have come against fellow strugglers Wycombe Wanderers at the Brick Community Stadium, with the Chairboys emerging 2-0 victors in the EFL Cup third round fixture on September 23rd, before getting one over on the North West side again on Saturday with a 1-0 success courtesy of Sam Bell's 35th-minute strike.

Last term, Wigan's season was one of extremely mixed fortunes, as they ended the campaign with just 40 goals in 46 games - the worst goal return in the division - whilst also having a resolute rearguard which shipped just 42 concessions, largely down to the presence of Sam Tickle between the sticks.

The roles have well and truly been reversed this term, though, with the Blues scoring 15 times yet conceding 17, as only four of their divisional rivals have shipped a higher tally thus far.

Whilst some supporters continue to be frustrated at a lack of consistency, Hendrie has backed Lowe to address his side's fortunes after a summer window which saw plenty of turnover in terms of incomings and outgoings.

"I'm a really big fan of what Lowey does, and what he's done at previous clubs," former Aston Villa midfielder Hendrie exclusively told Football League World.

"I think he's a really good manager.

"I think we're getting to the stage of the season where fans are very critical of people in charge of things when it's not quite going their way.

"But, how many times have we seen clubs turn a massive corner from Christmas onwards, particularly in the lower leagues?" Hendrie explained.

"I do feel that Lowey will get it right at Wigan. I don't feel there's any need for him to be sacked at all.

"He's a very good manager, and they need to have that belief in him," Hendrie added.

Wigan Athletic are capable of turning a corner under Ryan Lowe

As Hendrie alluded to, the Liverpudlian has a strong track record of progressing previous clubs such as Bury, Plymouth Argyle and Preston North End.

Whilst such developments haven't fully transpired at Wigan thus far, certain underlying metrics suggest that, should the Latics revert to their strong defensive ways, they will be in with a chance of making strides up the table.

Lowe's men currently rank third in terms of xG and are underperforming their number of 18.2 on this particular front, which has also been echoed by the spurning of 22 big chances, which is the second-highest tally in League One.

Wrexham loanee Paul Mullin and Fraser Murray have had the strongest impacts in terms of individual performances, meaning that, should the rest of the squad live up to such standards, the current sack calls could look rather questionable in such a short period of time.

The table is also extremely congested at present, with only eight points separating Wigan from sixth-place Lincoln City, albeit they are currently much closer to the bottom four.

However, such statistics only back up the pundit's belief that Lowe should be afforded time to change the club's immediate fortunes.