Preston North End boss Ryan Lowe gave a passionate message to his players after beating Plymouth Argyle 1-0 on Saturday afternoon.
Lowe was making his first return to Home Park since leaving Argyle for PNE back in December 2021.
The North End boss was probably expecting a few boos and whilst he played it down after the game, he will have absolutely loved winning Saturday’s game.
Liam Millar scored the only goal of the game, firing home at the back post to hand North End all three points.
Add in a clean sheet and this was a hugely successful day for North End with Lowe delighted after final whistle.
Ryan Lowe message in the dressing room
PNE have now posted a video of Lowe’s message to the North End players following Saturday’s victory.
As seen on YouTube, Lowe told the PNE squad that he was especially proud of the players who came into the side.
Robbie Brady and Ryan Ledson played well amid firm criticism of their displays this season whilst Millar and Layton Stewart came off the bench following early injuries.
Lowe admitted that he couldn’t thank his players enough, praising the standard of those who came into the side and have maybe been on the fringes of late.
Lowe did make one comment which has left fans a little puzzled, stating that ‘next year is going to be even harder’.
It’s unclear whether Lowe was referring to players losing teammates, such as in the summer transfer window, or whether he means it will be even harder for players on the fringes because the quality of the squad will ramp up again.
Lowe added that he values every player massively, telling them that they wouldn’t be at PNE at all if he didn’t really want them.
The PNE also seemed to break down PNE’s final nine games into three sets of three whilst wanting to continue the ‘underdog’ tag heading in to the final weeks of the season.
“It’s hard when you lose a couple of your mates, okay. But do you know what? The standard of the players that come in, I can’t thank you enough. I know it’s hard, right, and next year it’s going to be even harder,” said Lowe.
“When you are called upon, excellent. I don’t just look at 11 players, I look at the whole lot of you, because if I didn’t want you here, you wouldn’t be here. The lads who know that from day one, understand it, okay. But they are performance that get you where you want to get to. Not too carried away, but enjoy the break because you deserve it, every single one of you, and when we come back, we’ll set our threes and threes and threes – you’ll have nine games to go, let’s bring it on. Let’s keep the underdog tag, right, and we’ll keep going with what we need to do, going about our business,” he added.
The inside look into Lowe’s post-match words was certainly interesting and PNE must be raring to go after the international break.
A play-off spot may still seem like an outside shot right now but Lowe will just keep going week to week, hoping to get as many points as possible and see where that takes him.