At the end of the 1984–85 season, Lowe scored past Brentford in the Football League Trophy final at Wembley with a spectacular overhead kick to help his team win the match 3–1.
[5] Bryan Hamilton then took charge at Springfield Park for the 1985–86 season and led the club to within one place and one point of promotion.
New boss John Lyall then took over at Portman Road, and following a 14th-place finish in 1990–91, took the club to the Second Division title in 1991–92, four points ahead of Middlesbrough.
[1] He stayed at Vale Park for the rest of the season and scored twice in nine games as the "Valiants" battled unsuccessfully to avoid exiting the Second Division at the opposite end to Ipswich.
[3] However, he would become a regular first-team player at Filbert Street in 1992–93, bagging 12 goals to help the club book a place in the First Division play-offs.
[6] Under manager John Deehan, the "Latics" won the Third Division title in 1996–97, with Lowe scoring six goals in 40 games.
Lowe hit three goals in 23 games in an injury-plagued 1998–99 campaign, as Wigan reached the play-offs, where they were defeated by Manchester City.
[3] Lowe scored 83 times in all competitions during his two spells at Wigan, making him the highest goal scorer in the club's Football League history.
[9] Released by Wigan in June 1999, Lowe made the move to Second Division rivals Wrexham on a two-year deal, where he was offered a player-coach role.
[11] After retiring as a player, Lowe worked for the Professional Footballers' Association as a coach educator in the North-West until June 2002, when he joined Wigan Athletic under former teammate Paul Jewell.
[8] A fully qualified coach, Lowe fulfilled various roles at Wigan before following Jewell to Derby County and becoming head of the youth academy at the club.
Following the departure of Jewell and before the arrival of new manager Nigel Clough, Lowe was placed in temporary charge of one game in January 2009, where his Derby team beat Manchester United 1–0 in the first leg of the League Cup semi-final at Pride Park Stadium.