What Ryan Lowe has said about Plymouth Argyle - Pilgrims fans will appreciate this | OneFootball

The former Plymouth manager Ryan Lowe has praised the current Pilgrims boss Tom Cleverley after his Wigan team was held to a 1-1 draw at Home Park.

The former Plymouth manager Ryan Lowe has spoken about his old club, following his Wigan Athletic team's 1-1 draw at Home Park on Saturday.

Following a slow start to the 2025-26 season, Plymouth Argyle are starting to build up a head of steam in League One, and this hasn't gone unnoticed by the club's former manager Ryan Lowe.

Argyle started their new season with a shocking four consecutive defeats which left them one place off the bottom of the table, but they've only lost two of the seven League games they've played since and now sit in a far more comfortable looking 15th.

Lowe took his Wigan Athletic team to Home Park on Saturday, with the two teams playing out a 1-1 draw, and speaking after the match, Lowe, who was the manager there himself from 2019 to 2021, was full of praise for both the current Plymouth manager Tom Cleverley and the club itself.

"They could potentially go straight back up at the first attempt" - Ryan Lowe praises Plymouth Argyle

Speaking after Saturday's 1-1 draw between Plymouth Argyle and Wigan Athletic on Saturday afternoon, the Wigan Athletic manager spoke candidly about the affection that he still has for his former club. "I wish nothing but the best for them", Lowe said, going on to add that, "They have got good people, a good owner, great fans, and have got a good manager who I think will take you places."

Lowe reserved special praise for the current Argyle manager Tom Cleverley, saying that, "I have come up against Tom before, when he was at Watford", and that, "He's a young coach, he's a good lad, I think he can have a connection with the fans, what this football club wants and what these fans want."

The Wigan manager added that he believes that Plymouth, who were relegated from the Championship at the end of the 2024-25 season, adding that, "We are probably a little bit behind of getting to that next step, where Argyle have just come down from it, they could potentially go back up at the first attempt."

Tom Cleverley is turning Plymouth around after a terrible start to 2025-26

Lowe's words of praise may delight Plymouth fans, who've had a tough start to life back in League One following relegation from the Championship at the end of the 2024-25 season. As a freshly-relegated club returning to the division, they started the season among the favourites for promotion, but their season started calamitously, with four straight defeats sending them hurtling towards the foot of the League One table.

But Cleverley has, since that extremely difficult start , been able to turn the team's fortunes around on the pitch. Recent results have seen a considerable improvement, including a 4-0 win away to Burton Albion, a 3-2 win away to Luton Town, who were relegated alongside them at the end of last season, and a 4-2 home win against Stockport County.

These results have also eased some of the pressure on Tom Cleverley, who was appointed to the job during the summer. Cleverley only started his own managerial career at the end of the 2023-24 season, when he was offered the Watford manager's job on a permanent basis after impressing during a short stint as their caretaker-manager. He was sacked by the Hornets at the end of the 2024-25 season after they could only finish 14th in the Championship.

With an international break coming up this weekend, Cleverley now has a bit of a break before the Pilgrims' next home match against in-form Wimbledon on the 18th October. Ryan Lowe said in his post-match comments that, "We knew Argyle had turned a little bit of a corner, we knew how good they were going to be."

Such words will be music to the ears of Pilgrims fans, who endured a tough start to the season but are now starting to see the benefits of Cleverely's coaching. To hear this - and praise for their club - from a former manager is an extremely positive message for Argyle fans to take into the international break.

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