Excitement Builds

PILGRIMS’ manager Ryan Lowe cannot wait for the Sky Bet League Two season to get underway on Saturday, at the home of one of his former clubs, Crewe Alexandra.

The Argyle manager will take his new-look side to the Alexandra Stadium for their season-opener, and his competitive debut after succeeding Derek Adams in the summer. It is a moment he has been looking forward to for a while.

“I’m excited to be working for this football club more than anything - in terms of how big it is, the stature of the club, the fans,” said Lowe at Thursday’s pre-match press call. “The players have bought into it now, the lads that were brought here and the lads that were here [previously]. There’s a lot of lads that we haven’t seen the best out of last season or the season before.”

Lowe’s enthusiasm is not confined to the pitch alone, though. Anyone who has encountered the LIverpudlian manager during the first weeks and months of his tenure at Home Park will have met the same energetic, lively figure who seems to have settled into life in Plymouth with relative ease.

“It’s been great to me [the city of Plymouth],” he said. “It’s different, coming from Liverpool, which is a million miles an hour. Down here, they’re a lot more chilled out and relaxed.”

While Lowe may have enjoyed his pre-season experience in the aforementioned ‘relaxed’ environment, there is certainly a drive and desire to achieve big things within the four walls of the Theatre of Greens.

“I think you’ve seen me around the place since I’ve come through the door,” said Ryan. “I’m bubbly and excited, I just can’t wait, and I want to do what’s best for this football club and Simon Hallett [chairman], Andrew [Parkinson, chief executive], Zac [Newton, club secretary] and everyone else associated because they’ve put their faith in me to run this football club.

“When someone gives you those chances, I’m one to want to pay them back massively. That’s my aim – to get this football club back where it belongs.”