Ex-Sheffield Wednesday man leaves manager role at Championship rivals after opening-day Sheffield United defeat

Ryan Lowe has left his role as manager of Preston North End after just one game, having kicked the 2024/25 campaign off with defeat against Sheffield United.

Preston’s season started with a drab 2-0 loss at home to the Blades, with goals either side of half-time from Oliver Arblaster and Gus Hamer ensuring all three points returned to South Yorkshire. While Chris Wilder’s side looked solid defensively and sharp going forward, the home side were well off the pace and sections of Deepdale booed Lowe off the pitch after full-time.

An official club statement released on Monday read: “Preston North End can confirm that manager Ryan Lowe has left the club by mutual consent. Ryan joined the club in December 2021, leading us to 13th, 12th and 10th-placed finishes in his two and a half seasons as the club’s first team manager.

“Following discussions that took place on Sunday 11th August, it was mutually agreed that now was an appropriate time for a change to be made. Ryan leaves with the thanks of everyone at the club for his hard work, dedication and commitment, and we wish him and his family the very best for the future.

“For the two upcoming fixtures against Sunderland and Swansea City this week, Mike Marsh – accompanied by Peter Murphy and Ched Evans – will be in charge of the team. Arrangements beyond these two fixtures will be announced next week.”

Lowe, a former striker who spent one season at Sheffield Wednesday, took charge of Preston in 2021 and guided them to a 13th-placed finish during his debut campaign in the Deepdale dugout. His two full seasons as manager saw the Lilywhites finish 12th and 10th but a relatively small budget offered little chance of a consistent promotion challenge.

But supporters had grown increasingly frustrated with what has been perceived to be a negative style, and a woeful run of five straight defeats without scoring at the end of last season piled the pressure on. Preston have now lost their last six league games and drawn a blank in eight of their last nine, between the end of last season and Friday’s defeat against United.

Those in charge at Deepdale will now begin the process of recruiting a new head coach, with an update expected next week. They don’t face Wednesday until December 7, at which point a permanent new man will almost certainly be in the dugout.

Both United and Wednesday kicked off their new campaigns with victory, Danny Rohl’s Owls putting Plymouth Argyle to the sword with a convincing 4-0 win at Hillsborough on Sunday. Jamal Lowe opened his account inside 35 minutes before a Brendan Galloway own-goal and second-half efforts from Josh Windass and Michael Smith ensured a far more positive start compared to 12 months ago.