Nathan Lowe opens up on Stoke City truth, strike idol and beating imposter syndrome
Nathan Lowe talked while he was at Walsall about trying to learn from Erling Haaland’s ability to dust himself down after missing a chance. The 19-year-old forward was averaging nearly three shots a game for a team that was charging towards the League Two title and he was getting into the habit of scoring with at least one of them.
He was called back to Stoke City in January and it’s fair to say the chances are fewer and further between. It’s something Mark Robins has made it a priority to address to try to haul the side up the Championship table and Lowe is adapting too, making sure that he can maximise it all in terms of quantity and quality.
“I think that’s the biggest difference so far and I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t struggled a little bit to get to grips with that,” he said, ahead of tonight’s trip to Bristol City (7.45pm). “I was obviously used to that before I left but at Walsall, when you’re at that end of the table, you naturally create a lot more chances. It wasn’t like I was squandering loads but I’d have a lot of chances in the game and maybe three or four shots. I’d say that was pretty typical at Walsall – then I’ve had one or two between two or three games back here.
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“It’s so much different. Even my goal at West Brom was chance that it fell to me. I think strikers would appreciate the movement that it takes to get into that position, get back onside and keep your body shape open, but to everyone else it probably looks like I stuck a leg out and got lucky.
“I haven’t had many outright that I’ve missed but in the Championship you will get fewer because defences are better, it’s harder to break them down. I think it will come because I believe in what we’re trying to do and the gaffer is trying to implement a more attacking style of football, which is great for strikers.
“Hopefully more chances will come and I’ve just got to make sure I’m ready and in the right positions. That’s down to my movement and all the stuff that I can control. I’ve got to make sure I’m in there for it to fall to me.”
Robins and his coaching staff have been working on Stoke’s game in possession and, although it’s a small sample size, there is encouragement in scoring twice at Hull and three times against Cardiff.
“Definitely,” said Lowe. “From the inside perspective, training with him every day, you can see the class that the coaching staff and manager have. They have that guile, we believe in them and I think when you buy into something as a team it makes it so much easier.
“All the patterns that we’re working on in training, all these little things, are shaping up to make us more confident. At the moment maybe it’s lack of belief rather than lack of quality. We’ve got some really good players here, players who will probably go on and play at a high level later in their career – but it’s about the here and now, we’re in a tough situation. We have to look up the table while making sure we don’t fall.
“It’s a belief thing but he’s going around, getting his arm around all of us, making sure we’re all in the same boat, and then when players get confidence in themselves they take more risks, take more shots – that’s a big thing he wants us to do, take more shots. That’s great for me, getting free rein go shoot is exactly what I want.”
If Haaland is the inspiration for Lowe’s mental approach, the style of striker he tries to emulate is more like Harry Kane. That’s more a sign of Lowe’s willingness to learn than get ahead of himself.
“It’s hard to say what I will become or won’t become and I don’t want it to bite me but in terms of playing style and where I want to get to I look at Harry Kane. That’s my idol. Obviously he’s outrageously good but there is no shame in trying to take little bits from his game and trying to model my game on his.
“I can kind of do the hold-up play but I’m not massive, I can run in behind but I’m not rapid. I’ve got little bits of each of them and you can say I’m not amazing at one thing – or you can say I’ve got a plethora of different things in my arsenal. It depends which way you want to look at it and I want to look at it the positive way.
“I have different attributes that can complement each other so you can influence different types of game. If the manager wants me to run in behind one game I can do that or if he wants me to be a hold-up player and be a nuisance I can do that.
“Hopefully, in time, I can fill out or get quicker and I can change my game to that!”
Ashton Gate is probably the venue for the highlight of Lowe’s time in a Stoke shirt so far. The Potters, then under Alex Neil in September 2023, came from 2-0 down with Lowe - who has been at the club since he was at primary school - coming on as a substitute to score a last-minute winner.
Yet Lowe admits he felt a little bit of imposter syndrome as he was trying to force his way into the team at that point. A lot has changed since then, thanks in large to that 18-goal loan spell at Walsall and working with sports psychologist David Galbraith.
He said: “I’ve worked with psychologists at the club and a big thing has been taking that on outside of the club too, investing in myself and hiring a sports psychologist who has worked with Olympians. I think that really helped me because it’s such a massive part of the game, half the battle.
“It’s something that I’m really glad I’ve done because I’m a more confident player. Me playing with confidence versus me playing without confidence is night and day. I’m sure Stoke fans have seen a difference from when I left compared to coming back.
“Granted, some of that is fitness. When you play so many games you get into a flow and you’re sharper all round but it’s also psychologically, less fear of failure and a belief that you can impact the game. That’s massive.”
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