Ryan Lowe is expected to line-up against the side who gave him his opportunity in the Football League.
Some 13 years ago Lowe was put in touch with Shrewbury’s then-manager Kevin Radcliffe by Everton and after a short trial the Liverpudlian signed on professional terms at Gay Meadow.
During a five year spell with the Shrews, Lowe experience his side narrowly missing out on the play-offs, a run in the FA Cup which saw them claim the scalp of Wayne Rooney’s Everton, relegation to the Conference and promotion back to the Football League via the play-offs.
It was an action-packed time for Lowe and one he looks back on fondly. He said: “I have great memories from my time at Shrewsbury. They gave me my break in football because I was 20 years of age when I went and signed there. I’ve got all the respect in the world for them for giving me a chance, especially Kevin Ratcliffe who was the manager there at the time.
“I had five great years there with plenty of ups and downs. I got relegated with them but then we got promoted straight back up into League 2. I had a good experience there and that’s where I arguably learned my trade. I went there at 20 and I developed as a footballer over them 5 years. I’ve got happy memories there but it’s down to business now, I’ve got to do my job and hopefully help
the Dons take the three points.”
The Shrews arrive at stadiummk in a difficult run of form having lost three games on the bounce, while the Dons are in a buoyant mood with an unbeaten streak of six. However, Lowe will take nothing for granted.
“I’m expecting a fight from them. They’re at the other end of the table at the moment but no game is going to be easy in this League. They’re not going to roll over and die for us, they’ll want to come here and put give us a stern test, like most teams do.”
His fondness of Shrewsbury will be a distant memory come 7.45pm tonight as he and his team-mates embark on their latest challenge to get the Dons into the play-offs.
It is a task the Dons still believe in, especially on the back of a win and draw against Doncaster Rovers and Sheffield United respectively, and to get there Lowe, who has seen his goal tally stutter
over recent weeks, understands that personal sacrifices will have to be made.
“We’re happy with the four points but this week coming up is a very important week, if we can pick up maximum points this week we will be more than happy.
“I think when you’re trying to achieve something you have to forfeit individual goals, last year at Sheffield Wednesday I didn’t play as much as I would have liked at the latter part of the season but it didn’t matter because I was hoping to get promotion on my CV.
“It’s tough for the lads not playing, the lads coming on and the lads coming off but it’s a team game, it’s not about a single individual, all the lads know that and we have to put our personal targets to one side and go forward as a group.
“We just have to work hard, dig deep and get the points on the board to get us where we need to be.”
