Ryan Lowe oversaw one of the biggest wins of his managerial career so far on Tuesday night, certainly the most important in his time as Preston North End manager.
Thanks to a Cameron Archer goal, North End earned the bragging rights with a 1-0 win over Blackpool. Deepdale was bouncing throughout the 90 minutes and it was a memorable occasion for many to savour.
Archer’s name will be remembered for a long time, and most probably sung for the next few years regardless of where he plays.
For Lowe it was a taster of what Deepdale can be like with a packed stadium, and the fans fully behind the team for an important fixture.
Lowe will have been happy with what he saw from the fans who responded to a committed performance from the team. Lowe will want plenty more nights like that and to give the fans more to celebrate.
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After the match on Tuesday, Lowe joined the Sky Sports team on the night in the studio which consisted of David Prutton, Clinton Morrison and Declan Rudd.
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Talking about Preston’s plans for recruitment in the summer he looked back on his time at Plymouth.
“We had a year of consolidation at Plymouth where we finished about 18th in League One and from the January onwards we were already looking ahead to the next season. The club is in a great place now and hopefully they can get promoted to this league with Schuey (Stephen Schumacher),” he added.
It was nice to hear Lowe wish his former club the best and his wish to see them join Preston in the Championship next season.
For some Argyle fans, Lowe leaving left a sour taste in their mouth despite him moving up a division and to a bigger club.
Schumacher was part of Lowe’s backroom staff at Plymouth and previously at Bury too. I’m sure they remain close friends but Schumacher will want to make his own way in the game now and has had a very good start to his career as a manager.
Plymouth are fourth in League One at the moment and look certain of a play-off place at least, with an automatic spot still within their grasp.
If the Pilgrims do manage to gain promotion, the two fixtures against Preston next season are sure to be interesting encounters with the master against his apprentice.
Plymouth fans will be keen to get one over on their former manager too despite the success he had with them.