Kenny Lowe appointed interim manager at Perth Glory

Perth Glory quickly addressed its managerial vacancy by appointing Kenny Lowe as interim coach for the remainder of the 2013/14 season. Andrew Ord was named Lowe’s assistant and board member Declan Kelly was given the role of Director of Football Communications, a position deemed necessary after the troubles that led to Alistair Edwards’ sacking earlier this week.

Lowe, 52, is a former Glory assistant coach and has been involved with the Western Australia Institute of Sport where he has helped develop young players in the region. Ord worked with Lowe with youth teams both at the Glory and more generally in Western Australia as well as spending time coaching in Myanmar and Thailand. An Englishman, Lowe moved to Australia in 2007 after a playing career that included stops at Stoke City and Birmingham City. He was the manager at Barrow for four years before leaving England.

Glory CEO Jason Brewer announced the move in a club press release:

”We have moved quickly and effectively to identify and address the issues which culminated in evens of the last weekend and have learned a great deal in the process. This has only served to make this great club stronger and we can all now look forward with great hope and enthusiasm.

“Kenny Lowe is clearly one of this country’s leading coaches, he is well respected by all his peers for his coaching abilities. His previous experience at the club and the respect he has from all involved in the game made him the standout choice to assume this interim position. He has helped nurture some of this country’s brightest prospects including many members of our current squad. He has a very impressive pedigree in youth development in particular and that is something our club remains strongly committed to and will not deviate from.”

Perth’s first training session under Lowe came on Friday and he will lead another on Saturday ahead of Sunday’s Week 11 game against Adelaide United.