‘It only took me fifteen minutes to make up my mind to stay’

The midfielder looked to be heading for the Showgrounds exit door after the Bannsiders accepted a bid for him from Linfield.

But the Limvady man turned down David Jeffrey’s advances following a meeting at Windsor Park last Monday night much to the surprise of most who expected it was only a formality that Lowry would be joining up with his brother Philip at the Blues.

“There was a lot of stuff written that it was a done deal, but that was never the case,” Lowry told Times Sport.

“People just presumed I wanted to go to Linfield just because I wanted to speak to them. But the only reason I did that was because I wanted to make the decision about whether I stayed or went.

“I didn’t want the club to turn down any approach and then be left wondering what if?

“I knew in my head what I wanted to do but I just wanted to be sure and after speaking with David Jeffrey it just reaffirmed what I felt.”

Lowry met with Windsor Park officials last week but straight after the meeting he was phoned Oran Kearney that he was staying.

“I had a meeting with them (Linfield) in Belfast but I just didn’t feel that it was the place for me.

“I told them I would think it over but I was straight on the phone to Oran. So in the space of 15 minutes I’d made my mind up to stay.

“I feel at home at Coleraine, it’s the place where I feel most wanted. Oran is trying to build something here and I totally buy into it.

“There is a lot of good things happening here both on and off the pitch. I know Oran is working very hard to recruit players for the new season and I feel that with the right additions we could be challenging.

“We’ve established ourselves as a top six team over the last couple of seasons but we have to push on now and take inspiration from what Cliftonville and Crusaders have achieved.”