'Not the type of person I am' - Ryan Lowe's contract promise if Preston North End disaster struck

Preston North End manager Ryan Lowe says he would never leave a player in the cold - if they were out of contract and suffered an injury.

A handful of the Lilywhites’ squad are in the final few months of their Deepdale deals. It is public knowledge that captain Alan Browne has been offered fresh terms, but Ched Evans and Greg Cunningham are two senior players whose immediate futures are unclear. There are now two games left and Lowe has been playing the out-of-contract duo in recent weeks. But, North End’s boss was keen to stress that nobody in his squad should be worried about getting injured.

“I think I am a man of my word,” said Lowe. “If that happened, I wouldn’t just say: ‘Oh right, see you later, bye, you are out of the door’. I did it last year, with Greg. I said: ‘Don’t worry, you will be OK - we’ll make sure you are looked after’. I would never do that to anyone. Listen, no-one is never not good enough. They are all good, in different ways. People might want different challenges and want to play, but if that did happen I wouldn’t be shutting the door on anyone.

“That is just not the type of person I am. And yeah, we’d obviously want to make sure everyone was fine in that department. I do have a duty of care to let them know who will be staying and who will be going. I’ll do that pretty soon, but my next focus is always the next game. (After QPR) we don’t play for nine days... but I still think we’ve got a real opportunity against a fantastic team in Leicester - to show what we can do. They are the messages a lot of seniors have accepted.”

Lowe, since being appointed in December 2021, has strived to create a positive squad culture and ensure any new signings are good characters, as well as players. One of his senior-pros, Robbie Brady, hailed the ‘tight-knit’ feel to the group last week - saying it is ‘half the battle in the Championship. Lowe took great pleasure in hearing Brady had recognised that.

“It’s a big thing of mine,” said Lowe. “I remember saying it when I walked through the door. Some have come and gone, because they couldn’t quite live up to it. The ones who are here with us have been brilliant. And the camaraderie between them, they manage the dressing room. I don’t have to fine them; if there are slip-ups or standards seem to drop, they look after it.

“Rob is one of those leaders, in there. It pleases me on a daily basis and it should please the fans and everyone associated. You don’t get that. I know football clubs up and down the country who haven’t got that; they would love to have it, because it’s not easy that. You’ve got to go and find these type of players, good characters and lads who will really be there for you when you’re down - and pick people up.

“You should’ve seen our dressing room (at Southampton). I just let them all speak, they were getting around each other - because they knew it wasn’t acceptable. After they said their bit, I said my bit but wow, the togetherness of the group. They were fantastic and that’s me and my staff - that is what we do. We are like a big family and when you’ve got that, it takes you places.”