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It only seems like five minutes ago that Jason Lowe was the anxious teenager staring round at experienced team-mates in the Blackburn Rovers dressing room.
A decade on from signing his first professional contract at Ewood Park, and still only 28, Lowe now finds himself with roles reversed, an elder statesman in a Bolton squad packed with untested youngsters and facing the unenviable task of overturning a 12-point EFL deduction for going into administration.
The midfielder has played a key role in holding a difficult situation together at Wanderers and has once again picked up the captain’s armband since Liam Bridcutt was ruled out with a fractured collarbone.
And as the injuries chip away at the thin veneer of senior players in Keith Hill’s squad, Lowe finds himself drawing on the experience of coming through at Blackburn, where he was able to draw on a host of top professionals for advice.
“I was really fortunate at Blackburn because there were a lot of senior blokes in there who’d take you to one side and have a word, lads who’d played at a high level for a long period of time,” he said.
“I remember looking up to the likes of Steven Reid, David Dunn, Ryan Nelsen, Jason Roberts – experienced guys who had done so much in their career.
“I came in as a full-back and Michel Salgado was around at the time, his reputation was second to none, so there was so much I could draw from. You have to be like a sponge, ask questions, give it what you have got.”
Lowe was propelled into the Premier League as a substitute not long after his 20th birthday – replacing the injured David Dunn at Stamford Bridge and facing a classy forward line of Didier Drogba, Nicolas Anelka and Florent Malouda.
He still has Frank Lampard’s shirt as a memento – but now the boot is on the other foot and he is the one looking to help Wanderers’ younger players adapt to a difficult situation at the foot of the table.
“It all goes by very quick,” he said. “It doesn’t seem that long ago that I was the kid sat there and feeling the pressure of playing senior football. But I think back at those players who helped me at Blackburn and use it to pass on bits of advice I can.
“You look around the dressing room and there are a lot of young players there. I’ve been there, made mistakes, and you just have to put them behind you and learn as quickly as possible.
“It’s a fact you will make mistakes, I certainly did, and when you make that step up into league football you really very quickly that it’s unforgiving. The opposition put you under pressure and test you.
“At the end of the day the young lads have to do it themselves. They have to want to do it, anyone can give advice but it’s whether people are willing to learn and take it in.”
Wanderers go to Bristol Rovers tomorrow night still searching for their first victory of the season, and with the likes of Thibaud Verlinden and Sonny Graham unlikely to feature from Saturday’s squad.
Lowe was one of the few players who bridged the gap between last season’s chaos and the team now trying to reinvent itself under Keith Hill. But he admits the uncertainty which dogged the club over the summer is still having a major impact on league form.
“The pre-season wasn’t really there,” he said. “The preparation was very difficult and the new manager came in with a day or so to sign players, which is tough.
“The guys who came in are giving us what they can, they are willing to work and build. We have just got to try and get the maximum, push each other, and see where it takes us.
“We are chasing that first victory just to build the confidence around the place and then hopefully it will be a stepping stone to kick on. We are searching, we are working hard, and I don’t think it’s very far away. But we can’t keep saying that – we need to put the ball in the net, keep the clean sheets, do the basics.”
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A decade on from signing his first professional contract at Ewood Park, and still only 28, Lowe now finds himself with roles reversed, an elder statesman in a Bolton squad packed with untested youngsters and facing the unenviable task of overturning a 12-point EFL deduction for going into administration.
The midfielder has played a key role in holding a difficult situation together at Wanderers and has once again picked up the captain’s armband since Liam Bridcutt was ruled out with a fractured collarbone.
And as the injuries chip away at the thin veneer of senior players in Keith Hill’s squad, Lowe finds himself drawing on the experience of coming through at Blackburn, where he was able to draw on a host of top professionals for advice.
“I was really fortunate at Blackburn because there were a lot of senior blokes in there who’d take you to one side and have a word, lads who’d played at a high level for a long period of time,” he said.
“I remember looking up to the likes of Steven Reid, David Dunn, Ryan Nelsen, Jason Roberts – experienced guys who had done so much in their career.
“I came in as a full-back and Michel Salgado was around at the time, his reputation was second to none, so there was so much I could draw from. You have to be like a sponge, ask questions, give it what you have got.”
Lowe was propelled into the Premier League as a substitute not long after his 20th birthday – replacing the injured David Dunn at Stamford Bridge and facing a classy forward line of Didier Drogba, Nicolas Anelka and Florent Malouda.
He still has Frank Lampard’s shirt as a memento – but now the boot is on the other foot and he is the one looking to help Wanderers’ younger players adapt to a difficult situation at the foot of the table.
“It all goes by very quick,” he said. “It doesn’t seem that long ago that I was the kid sat there and feeling the pressure of playing senior football. But I think back at those players who helped me at Blackburn and use it to pass on bits of advice I can.
“You look around the dressing room and there are a lot of young players there. I’ve been there, made mistakes, and you just have to put them behind you and learn as quickly as possible.
“It’s a fact you will make mistakes, I certainly did, and when you make that step up into league football you really very quickly that it’s unforgiving. The opposition put you under pressure and test you.
“At the end of the day the young lads have to do it themselves. They have to want to do it, anyone can give advice but it’s whether people are willing to learn and take it in.”
Wanderers go to Bristol Rovers tomorrow night still searching for their first victory of the season, and with the likes of Thibaud Verlinden and Sonny Graham unlikely to feature from Saturday’s squad.
Lowe was one of the few players who bridged the gap between last season’s chaos and the team now trying to reinvent itself under Keith Hill. But he admits the uncertainty which dogged the club over the summer is still having a major impact on league form.
“The pre-season wasn’t really there,” he said. “The preparation was very difficult and the new manager came in with a day or so to sign players, which is tough.
“The guys who came in are giving us what they can, they are willing to work and build. We have just got to try and get the maximum, push each other, and see where it takes us.
“We are chasing that first victory just to build the confidence around the place and then hopefully it will be a stepping stone to kick on. We are searching, we are working hard, and I don’t think it’s very far away. But we can’t keep saying that – we need to put the ball in the net, keep the clean sheets, do the basics.”
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