Wigan Athletic have sacked Ryan Lowe less than a year into his reign, a decision that comes a week before their FA Cup fourth-round trip to the Emirates Stadium to face Arsenal.
The League One club moved to remove Lowe this weekend after a damaging run of results left them sliding into the bottom three of the table and increasingly anxious about the relegation scrap they now find themselves in.
The decision was taken hours after a 6-1 defeat by Peterborough on Saturday, a result that left Wigan 22nd in the division (they were 11th at the start of December), with Lowe having won just 12 of his 49 matches in charge and without a league victory in their previous seven games.
Lowe had been appointed on a three-and-a-half-year contract in March 2025, replacing Shaun Maloney, with a brief to oversee a long-term rebuild and return Wigan to the Championship.
He arrived with a strong lower-league reputation and spoke openly about a project based on a clear playing identity and a recruitment strategy focused on unpolished talent rather than high-profile signings.
Wigan’s hierarchy have now concluded that a change of direction is required, with coverage around the club suggesting a desire for a more pragmatic voice to stabilise results in the short term.
Former Republic of Ireland midfielder Glenn Whelan has been placed in interim charge, working alongside Graham Barrow, as Wigan begin the search for a permanent head coach.
It is the second time Whelan has stepped into a caretaker role at the club, having done so last March following Maloney’s dismissal, and he could still be in the dugout when Wigan travel to north London if no appointment is made before then.
The Gunners host their League One opposition on Sunday 15 February, a tie that sits between away league fixtures at Brentford and Wolves before another away trip to Tottenham.
With Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard among those managing returns from injury, it is widely viewed as an opportunity to rotate while being expected to progress.