Ryan Lowe reveals the key to Wigan Athletic's stormy draw at Plymouth Argyle and explains tactical travel call
Wigan Athletic boss Ryan Lowe says preparation was the key to unlocking a much-needed point at Plymouth Argyle.
Saturday's 1-1 draw ended Latics’ run of three straight defeats and, while it wasn’t the victory they were chasing, it offered a vital sign of progress.
Lowe had brought his players in for Sunday training after their last game - the 2-0 defeat at home to Cardiff City - and to ensure they were fresh and ready for Plymouth, the squad flew down to Devon as opposed to travelling by rail or coach.
“I said to the group the fighting spirit that I see on a daily basis, that's what we were going to need, as well as the quality, and they gave us that," he said.
“That's why I said to them at the end, when you give that and you've got that, we knew that it wasn’t going to be easy for them.
“We knew we had to train an extra day last week. We knew we had to fly down here because I'd been here for two-and-a-half years, and as the lads will tell you here, teams come here the night before, getting here at 10pm or 11pm.
"It doesn't work because you roll them over, and I didn't want that to happen, so we equipped ourselves the right way to perform to the levels we did.
“Argyle are very aggressive at home as you’d expect. But for us, we went about our business the right way, we dealt with the pressure, and we came up with good points.”
The manager’s words reflected the pride he felt in seeing his side translate that preparation into performance.
The point may have felt modest in isolation, but in the context of Wigan’s recent form, it represented a step forward, and it came during a game dictated by conditions with rain and swirling winds thanks to Storm Amy.
“It was tough,” acknowledged Lowe. “We went for a walk in the morning, and it was blowing a gale down the Hoe.
“Then I went up to get a shower and get dressed, it was sunshine - I was thinking ‘okay, this is Plymouth for you’ at times!
“But no, I think both teams, it affected them somewhere along the line because the ball was just swaying everywhere with clearances, so it was probably a fair result on reflection.”