Wigan Athletic star laments 'strange' loss of home advantage

Latics will resume their Championship campaign in just 11 days’ time, with a trip to West Yorkshire to face a Huddersfield Town side also deep in the relegation mire.

Their first home game will be the visit of north-west neighbours Blackburn Rovers the following Saturday, although the DW Stadium will remain closed to supporters.

And Lowe says having no fans to cheer them on for the run-in will be just one of several obstacles to be overcome.

“It’ll be strange of course to have no supporters there, and you lose parts of that home advantage because you have your fans behind you,” he said.

“But if it has to be done, we’ll have to find a way to use those advantages of a home game in the best way we can...sleeping in your own bed, not travelling as far, having your own rituals.

“It will be hard and very different, but it may be something we have to get used to for a little while.

“The fans give you that extra boost when you need it so it’s going to be on the players and coaching staff to give you that.

"Our manager is pretty good at that anyway so we should be fine.”

Lowe is hoping for a strong end to his maiden campaign with Latics, having joined from Portsmouth last summer for £2.5million.

He’s the first to admit it’s taken him time to settle in to life up north, but he remains confident he has it in him to shine in the second tier.

“Everything in life takes time,” he added. “The move itself – moving from one end of the country to the other – took time to adapt to, moving to a different club took time to adapt to, different philosophies, players, staff, style of play, characters, etc.

“It takes time for you to become comfortable, a little bit like being a new kid at a new school, and you’re not your full self on your first day.

“But over time you make friends, and it’s like you didn’t move school.

“The staff have helped with that. The environment they have created is great, and they are always there to help, whatever the time is.

“The lads are great too and have been very welcoming. There are lots of factors but, equally, it’s a natural progression, and it also affects every individual who makes a move like this differently.

“Some people might settle in and play really well straight away, in other cases – for me and Kieffer (Moore) for example – it has taken a little longer for us to settle in to our best football.”