Opinion: Wigan Athletic could hire three managers after sacking Ryan Lowe, including sacked Championship boss

Wigan Athletic parted ways with manager Ryan Lowe on Saturday evening after a 6-1 defeat to Peterborough United.

Wigan Athletic were defeated by Peterborough United in League One on Saturday afternoon. Shortly after the defeat, there were rumors that Wigan Athletic would sack Ryan Lowe, which they did.

Lowe leaves the club after less than a year in charge. He has won 12 of his 49 games in charge of the club, with WAFC having won just one of their last 11 games in the league and currently sit 22nd in the League One table.

Here we look at three managers who could replace Lowe at Wigan Athletic…

Steve Bruce

Former Wigan Athletic boss Steve Bruce is on the market following his spell at Blackpool. Blackpool sacked Bruce in October last year while the club were in second place at the bottom of the table, although that came after he had guided the Seasiders to an impressive 9th place last season.

Bruce managed Wigan Athletic twice, with the vast majority of his 76 games in charge during his second spell between November 2007 and June 2009, most notably guiding the club to an 11th-place finish in the Premier League in the 2008/09 season before leaving for Sunderland.

He could be exactly what WAFC need from now until the summer to steady the ship and avoid relegation to League Two.

Valerien Ismael

Valerien Ismael may be a more ambitious appointment for Wigan Athletic, but not one that is outside the realm of possibility. Ismael, the former manager of Barnsley, West Brom, Watford and Blackburn Rovers, was sacked by Blackburn on deadline day last week.

But overall he has a good track record. He has won 58 of 147 Championship games as manager but has never managed to play in League One. Taking on this job at Wigan Athletic would be a risk to his credentials.

However, Ismael is likely to be based in the Lancashire area, given that he was last Blackburn Rovers manager, and Wigan Athletic remains a big club in League One. As unlikely as this is, it would be a very exciting appointment.

Tony Mowbray

Another man Lancashire knows is Tony Mowbray. The long-standing former Blackburn Rovers manager was appointed at West Brom, where he played just seventeen games. He left in April last year after his spell at Birmingham City was cut short due to illness.

He could be a target for the vacant job at Blackburn Rovers, although no credible link has been made yet. However, Mowbray is about as experienced as he has been in the EFL and League One, with 52 wins from 115 games in the third tier after leading Blackburn to promotion from League One in 2018.