Sheffield Wednesday v Cardiff City: Max Lowe has good people around him to adapt to central role

Sheffield Wednesday's Max Lowe. Image: Steve EllisSheffield Wednesday's Max Lowe. Image: Steve Ellis
Sheffield Wednesday's Max Lowe. Image: Steve Ellis
“I started off up front and I've slowly moved back – I'll end up in goal!” jokes Sheffield Wednesday's Max Lowe, excited to be in the early days of learning a new position.

A Derby County left-back then Sheffield United wing-back, Lowe did not see himself as a central defender but his friendship with Marvin Johnson, and working with one of his early mentors, Chris Powell, have eased the transition.

When Akin Famewo went down injured at Portsmouth's Fratton Park in late October, it was a major blow to the Owls. Late starting the season because of injury, Famewo had hit form on the left of the back three his team had switched more often to when he got fit.

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His absence – set to run to months – accelerated a plan manager Danny Rohl had for Lowe when he picked him up on a free transfer from city rivals United in the summer.

It could be a role he takes on in Saturday's early kick-off at home to Cardiff City.

"The manager did speak to me as soon as I signed and said he thought I was capable of playing there," reveals Lowe. "It came as a little bit of a surprise because I'd never played centre-back but I trust what he says.

"When Akin was injured against Portsmouth it was always in the back of my mind after that that I might have to fill in.

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"I've gone through a lot of clips with Powelly (Chris Powell), Tommo (Neil Thompson) and the gaffer just trying to look at how well he's done in certain situations and trying to do my best for the team."

What was it Rohl could see but Lowe could not?

"He is calm on the ball and has a good technique," says Rohl. "He is left-footed, this is always helpful.

"When you look at how we build up it's sometimes different but he has had different roles in the past as well. Sometimes when he played as a full-back he came inside more like a left centre-back.

"And Max is a defender at heart, a little bit different to Marvin who is sometimes more of a winger and can play a bit higher up but works defensively to protect Max well."

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Lowe is very fortunate in who he has around him. Powell and Thompson were both left-backs – the former for England – and although the versatile Johnson is these days primarily seen as a wing-back he also had a stint as a central defender in a three under Darren Moore.

"In possession it's not too different to being a full-back in a back four, it's just defensively in certain situations I have to be a bit more safe and not jump (into a press)," explains Lowe.

"It's a similar area to play in as wing-back but you're the last man so you have to be that bit more responsible and wary of where I am on the pitch. I'm really enjoying it and I'm learning in that position every game, hopefully I can keep improving.

"I spoke to Marvin about it because I didn't realise he'd played there and he talked me through it. He said in every situation where I'm not sure, just do the safe thing."

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To have Johnson playing outside Lowe gives Wednesday the fluidity and tactical flexibility modern coaches like Rohl want.

"I started to try and create a relationship with some players," he says. "We have some players now, like Shea (Charles) and Barry (Bannan) where it's growing more and more.

"Against Norwich we started with Max in the left full-back position and Marvin the left winger of a 4-1-4-1 and in the second half we played with a 5-2-3 and they were left centre-half and left wing-back.

"If you look at nearly every one of our games you will see different formations in each half.

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"What I demand from my players is more to occupy positions and have a good structure and if one players leaves a position another fills it."

Such fluidity requires good coaching – more than one coach can provide – and players willing to learn. Lowe certainly fits the latter bil, and it helps that Powell was caretaker manager when he made his senior debut – for Derby against Cardiff.

"Nigel Pearson got sacked prior to the game and Powelly told me, 'Don't worry, you're still starting,' so it was all a bit weird," recalls a player who was a striker in youth football.

"He (Powell) did a lot of stuff with me at Derby when I was 18 and it was a fairly new transition for me going to left-back then.

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"Powelly's always pulling individuals (for a chat) away from training and he's happy to do one-on-one stuff which I think is massive for my development. Normally as a player you don't like being pulled by coaching staff but with these guys it's always been great."

The learning environment at Middlewood Road was one of the big draws for Lowe when released by the Blades at the end of last season.

"I spoke to a few players before I signed and even players who weren't making the squads were saying he was one of the best managers they'd worked with," he says. "For them to say that was an eye-opener for me.

"In training you always have to be on your toes because you never know what's around the corner. For me it's great because I want to improve every day and under this manager I can do that."

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