Max Lowe will be a name we will all look out for and everyone at Pittodrie wishes Max all the very best for the future. The very talented left back spoke to the Red Matchday Editor recently about his career to date and his time in the North-east of Scotland.

 

Pressure comes in different forms, at different times, in different places.

At Pittodrie, pressure comes in the chase for silverware, cup finals, European places, something Max Lowe has come to understand in the last few months.

But back at his parent club, Derby County, pressure means finally clinching promotion, back to the top flight where the Rams once ruled the roost under the great Brian Clough. It’s where their fans feel they belong and, in an era where the financial disparity between Premier League and Championship is so vast, where their accountants surely demand they have to be.
Derby have been the nearly men over recent seasons, regularly threatening the breakthrough but never quite getting over the line, frustrating as Max knows very well.

“The expectation levels every year have been really high. Every year recently we have been trying to stay in the play-off positions but for whatever reason, it has not happened. We have lost in the play-off finals and semi-finals.

“Sometimes at this stage of the season we have been in the top two then fallen away because of the tough schedule. It is three games a week for most of the season and it is hard. It is like it is in December in Scotland for the whole season!

“It is a massive club and sooner rather than later, hopefully the lads do get promoted and hopefully I can be part of it at some point. The club deserves to be in the Premier League but when you look at the Championship, there are a lot of clubs who could say the same. With the amount of big clubs in the league, it is getting harder.

“I think that has happened because there have been some surprise teams who have gone up – Bournemouth, Huddersfield, Burnley to a certain extent, smaller clubs who have done brilliantly and stayed in the league. Even Cardiff this season are not as weak as people thought they might have been. Cardiff last season were not a possession based team but they managed to get results and that is what the Championship is all about. It is about picking up results when you’re not playing well.

“I obviously i have kept an eye on the league and it is as tight as it has been since I can remember. From first to probably seventh could still easily get automatic promotion, and anyone in the top half of the league could get in the play-off positions. It will be interesting to see how it goes. There are a lot of quality sides plus a couple of surprises. I’m just waiting and hoping to see if Derby can push on, to see if this is the year. They are in a good position at the minute to at least claim a play-off spot”.

Derby holds a big place in Max’s heart as the club where he has grown up, right from the start of his footballing career.

“I was born in Birmingham but moved to Derby when I was six. That is where I picked up football at the age of seven. I played for my local team and then had a trial at Nottingham Forest for the U11s. I did not get in but I went straight to Derby after that and I have been there ever since. I would have been ten when I joined.

“I’m an Aston Villa fan because of my family. My dad supports them and also my grandad. Playing against them at Villa Park a couple of years ago was a nice moment. My mum’s side of the family are all West Brom supporters so there is a bit of a clash there! I have grown up watching Derby the most having come through the Academy and if we did not have a game we would get tickets.

“I first played left-back at U18 level. I was a number 10 or left winger at first. Then one day the left-back got injured and I was pushed back there. I remember when the coach told me before the game and I hated being a defender! I wanted to be going forward and I loved being creative. I played quite well in my first couple of games though and I have been there ever since! I have played left midfield on occasion, but it is at left-back where I think I will be for the rest of my career.

“Sport has always been a big thing for me. When I was younger, my first sport was tennis. I used to love tennis and when I watch it, I sometimes wish I had carried on with it. I have so much respect for tennis players as it is an individual sport and there is nowhere to hide. Football is a game of opinions and you never really know the truth because you have ten team mates on the field.

“I used to use my left hand and my right hand to play forehand so never really had a back hand! I would swap hands during rallies! So although I was quite good at 6 or 7, I’m not sure I would have gone far in it. I like squash as well as there is a lot of hand eye coordination stuff that is a strength for me. I also did a lot of athletics and specialised in the 400 metres.

“When I was playing locally I just played football because I loved it. Then when I got picked up by Derby, things became a bit more serious but it was probably when I first got called up by England at youth level, when I was 15, that is when I wanted to see how far I could go. I had a discussion with my dad and I wanted to try and kick on and see where my football career would take me. That is the way I still look at it. I have never set myself any goals, I just want to see how far I can go.

“I think St George’s Park has been a massive thing for the development of all the youth level. It just makes things easier. It is now like a second home for England players when they go there. Little things like seeing the senior team there and a couple of lads would get the opportunity to go and train with the senior team because we are all staying together.

“All that started to happened when I was at U16 level, so coming through, I have not known anything else. The setup is so impressive and the coaching is really good. Some of the talent that is coming through is frightening. Patrick Roberts is someone people up here will know. Technically he is frightening. A lot of boys are playing in the Premiership like Joe Gomez at Liverpool. I could name another ten who are playing in the top league. Then you have the younger ones who are coming through under them. It’s very promising”.

As well as his exposure to the England set-up, Max has worked with some big names at Derby, including former England coach Steve McClaren.

“Steve McClaren gave me my first run of games in the first team. I think I played 12 games under him. Coaching wise, he is one of the best. He is really good in terms of training sessions. He makes the game so enjoyable, he wants you to express yourself on a football pitch. He has his style of play and he makes it obvious what he wants you to do as your role in the team.

“Now, Frank Lampard is in charge. It is a massive job for his first managerial role but I think he was a very good appointment and fits what Derby are trying to do at the moment. They are trying to bring through young players and play the right way.

“His intelligence on the pitch and off the pitch is second to none. The first couple of days of pre-season, you could see that he was all about football. He got the balls out straight away but it was very hard and demanding on your legs.

“He has been really good. I played a couple of games at the start of the season under him and we picked up a massive win on the first day of the season with a late goal. At half-time, we were losing but he did not get frustrated. He just told us to keep the ball and be patient and believe in ourselves. He still wanted us to play out from the back and do the right things. He is really encouraging and a very honest guy as well. That is what you want as a young player. He is a class act. The way he conducts himself in an interview is the same as he is with me behind closed doors. I think that is the best trait about him.

“I know he speaks regularly to the manager here and I know they are both really happy with how I have kicked on. Ultimately my future was up to Frank Lampard. I respect his decision and trust him to do the best for my development. It was planned to be a six month loan and I feel I have developed massively. With one of the left-backs injured and out for the season, and only one left-back there, it does leave the door open for me to go back”.

Max spent last term with Shrewsbury Town, reaching Wembley with them, sadly suffering the same fate as he did with the Dons against Celtic at Hampden. That spell set him up for the challenges of coming to Pittodrie.

“When I went to Shrewsbury I was really nervous because that was the first time I had been away from Derby. At Aberdeen, yes I had nerves on the first morning, but as soon as training started, all the lads were brilliant with me. They are a great bunch and they made it really easy for me to settle in. Some of them took me out for food within the first week of being here. There are no groups, everyone is together. We all get on really well and enjoy a laugh. It is probably the best changing room I have ever been in.

“The gaffer and all the staff have also all been really encouraging. Even when I was not playing at the start of the season, Tony Docherty said I would get my chance and just keep doing what you are doing in training. The gaffer has also helped me in one v one sessions.

“I am a better player now than when I arrived. The amount of game time I have had has obviously helped and I would like to think I have got more confident after each game I have played. And it also comes with results. Beating Rangers twice helps the confidence for all of us. We all played really well in the final as well but were a bit unlucky with the result.

“The League Cup final against Celtic was the biggest occasion I have played in. I knew I had to do a job on Forrest. The gaffer made it simple for me, he told me to stay tight to him. He told me to imagine there was a five yard box and I had to follow him everywhere he went and that is basically what I tried to do during the whole 90 minutes. The manager here has helped me simplify the game. It looked like I did a really good job in the cup final but it was really quite simple because of what he told me to do.

“The future looks good here because the first thing that stood out for me when I came here was the quality of the younger lads. Personally I think it is because they have got a better opportunity here and get to train and be part of the first team. Deano, Bruce, Connor, they have so much talent.

“Connor made his full debut alongside me in that St Mirren game when we both scored. When he is running at you in training, you have no idea what he going to do! He is so unpredictable but it is a great skill to have. For him to do as well as he did at Ibrox, when we were down to ten men for so long, he stuck to his defensive tasks and that will have impressed the manager greatly.

“Bruce has come on and scored for the first team and everyone can see how good a finisher he is. And then Dean is still so young but with the stuff he produces in training, it won’t be too long before he gets his chance. It is great for me, as a young lad, seeing players younger than me training with us every day.

“I think in England there is a lot more pressure on young players to produce straight away. At least here you get time to settle into the squad and get used to the boys. I think that is better because you are more prepared when the time comes to play in the first team.”

You see? Patience is a virtue after all…