Ryan Lowe hails his players after Wigan Athletic end winless run - 'They take full credit for that'
Ryan Lowe says his players deserve all the credit after Wigan Athletic ended their month of misery with a 1-0 victory over Port Vale.
Latics went into the game with no wins in their last six, but a determined performance saw Lowe's side put an end to that run.
The result was all the more impressive with Wigan down to 10 men after Dara Costelloe’s dismissal on the brink of half-time for a high foot, a decision Ryan Lowe is considering appealing.
“The result is something that we've been trying to get for the past few weeks, we’ve had a bit of a dip in the road,” acknowledged Lowe.
“And then when you get a man sent off, which for me was a crazy decision because Dara doesn’t know he was there, yes, it was a bicycle kick, but that happens every day in training, let alone in games.
“The kid has come off and hasn’t hurt himself. He wasn’t covered in blood, so he was saying it was more malicious and sort of dangerous, but it can't be, because Dara didn't know he was there.
“We changed a few things up for the second half, and the lads on the pitch have done the job to the ability we know they can do.
“I’m just pleased for the boys, it's on them that. They deserve that because they've been through a tough time, and we don't want to lose many games of football at home, so fair play to them for sticking to the game plan and coming away with a result with 10 men.”
Lowe questioned the referee about the red card at the break. While Costelloe’s foot was high as he competed for a loose ball in the Vale box, it was far from malicious.
Lowe added: “I asked the referee at half-time. It took a little bit longer for him to answer the question, whereas if you ask me a question now and I've made a decision, I can tell you why I've made that decision.
“We will have a look at it and talk to Sarah (Guilfoyle, managing director) and Connor (Park, head of football administration) and see if we can maybe appeal it because it's not dangerous. Even their bench said it wasn’t dangerous, and it's not a red card.
“But look, besides that, it's gone, it's gone. It happened that we had to deal with it, and then what we dealt with afterwards, the balls coming in the box, the long throws, defending everything and putting bodies on the line, they were brilliant.
“I’m really pleased for the players, and they take full credit for that."