Why speed is of the essence for Ryan Lowe's Wigan Athletic - 'It works...I know it works...'

The new head coach saw his side draw 1-1 against Barnsley in his first home game in charge at the weekend.

And already it was crystal clear that Lowe wants Latics to adopt a faster, more aggressive style of play under his stewardship.

"It works," he said. "I know it works. I've done it 350-360 previous times at other clubs, so I know that system works. In terms of what I've had at my disposal, in terms of the group, I feel we can play different formations.

"What I will say is this is a good group of footballers who have been well coached under the previous management. I'm not going to say they haven't...it's just that the results weren't good enough.

"They're good footballers, and I'm just trying to change the way they play to be a little bit more expansive, more on the front foot, and more bodies in the box.

"That doesn't mean I won't look to use other systems - I've been working on stuff while I've been out of work - and I have different ideas of how to do things. But I thought the lads have taken on board the information I've asked them to over the last two-and-a-half weeks, and it was evident in the way we played."

Comparing how he sees the future to how Latics were set up under Shaun Maloney, Lowe was quick to point out there is no right or wrong way to play.

"Again, I'm not trying to critique anyone," he said. "I think Shaun did a fantastic job here, he's a good coach, but sometimes football throws up things and people lose their jobs.

"These lads have been coached for a way of playing and a style, and now they have to adapt to what I want. As you can see...it's more sprints, more recovery runs, everyone running forward, everyone running back. That's what I want in my team, and I think it's evident in my tenures at all of my other clubs."

Lowe's stamp on the team was most obvious when the ball was with goalkeeper Sam Tickle, who immediately launched the ball long on several occasions with front players having already made their run.

"Look, I never, ever want to get into goalkeeper's heads, because I know how tough it is for them," added Lowe. "But what I'm trying to learn with Sam...and it's still his decision...I just want to give him the option to do it.

"If he feels it's right to do it, it's right to do it. If it's not, it's not. All I'm trying to do is encourage him to think about doing stuff we've been working on.

"I know he's going to be a top goalkeeper, but there's things we all need to learn...I need to learn him, and get inside him, see what he's about.

"But he made an unbelievable save to keep it at 1-1, that's what he does, and the other side will come. It's a change to what he's used to, but it will come...when the situation dictates, he can go a little bit quicker."