Alex Lowry has been handed the No. 11 shirt at Motherwell, a number synonymous with club legend Davie Cooper, and the on-loan midfielder is determined to live up to its legacy.
The 23-year-old, who joined from Wycombe Wanderers for the season, revealed his excitement at securing the number, which he has always favored.
Childhood Number and a Legend's Legacy
“My childhood number growing up was always 11,” Lowry said. “As soon as that came about, I was like, yes, let me have that, please.”
He added: “Now I know that previous great players for the club like Davie Cooper have worn it. They have been of a really high standard and hopefully I can try and do the club proud when I wear No. 11.”
Making Up for Lost Time
Lowry is eager to make up for a challenging period at Wycombe, where he struggled for regular first-team football after a promising start.
“I’ve had a stop-start for 18 months since I went down to Wycombe,” he admitted. “Now it's just about me getting my head down, football, football, football and getting myself back to the level I feel as if I should be playing at and enjoying my football again.”
He credited Motherwell boss Alfred Johansson for reigniting his passion: “The type of football he likes to play is the type of football I love to play. Hopefully, I can repay him with more good performances and hopefully come with more starts and more minutes and just want to help the team as much as possible.”
European Debut and Upcoming Challenges
Lowry made his Motherwell debut in the opening-day Premiership win at Hibs and then started in Thursday's Conference qualifier away to HJK, which ended 1-1. He believes the team can finish the job at home and set up a play-off clash with Freiburg.
“What a game to come into,” he said. “When we came out for the warm-up and I saw the fans in the corner, I was like, that's incredible.”
He reflected on the performance: “I thought we started pretty well. We limited them to very few chances until the second half. It was a strong away European performance, which is good, so now we are looking forward to the next leg.”
Lowry also expressed frustration over his role in HJK's equalizer, which came after a Tawanda Maswanhise goal for Motherwell and a Teemu Pukki strike for the hosts.
“Yes, but European games never go as planned,” he said. “Obviously, the ball comes over my head and I've cramped up for the start of the goal, which I'm obviously angry about. Again, I'm not a fan of the AstroTurf. It stops and starts again. It kind of kills the game a wee bit.”
Despite the setback, he remains optimistic: “We've put ourselves in a good position to go back to the first half next Thursday.”
League Ambitions
Motherwell face Falkirk at home today in the league, and Lowry believes the club can build on last season's success.
“Yes, I thought we were great against Hibs,” he said. “The manager speaks about hitting teams on the counter when we can. I think you've seen the goal. It was a perfect counter-attack. It shows that we can go away from home in the Premiership, be under pressure for a bit and then hit teams on the break.”
He added: “This year, it's just a case of finishing as high as we possibly can and building on what happened last year and putting our own stamp on it.”
