Wigan Athletic boss reacts to 'not ideal' situation with more home games facing midweek switch

Just like last season, all three international 'breaks' in the first half of the campaign coincide with Latics home games.

And the emergence of the likes of Sam Tickle, Charlie Hughes, Baba Adeeko and Thelo Aasgaard into the international arena means the fixtures - against Stevenage on September 7, Northampton on October 12, and Burton on November 16 - are likely to be moved to midweek.

That will inevitably have a knock-on effect on the Latics coffers, which prompted club secretary Sarah Guilfoyle and chairman Ben Goodburn to ask the EFL to look into the possibility of extending the international 'break' to clubs in the third tier - without success.

With no compensation available to affected clubs, Maloney says Latics have to get on with it - with 'no solution to be had' as things stand.

"It's not just us, it affects the other teams as well, and it's just a sign of how strong League One is at the moment," he said. "The resources of some of the other clubs, the quality of young players coming through into the Under-21 squads, as well as those in the Irish and Scottish national sides...it's inevitable fixtures will have to move.

"I know Sarah and Ben spoke to the league about having an international break as with the leagues above, but obviously that's not the case.

"Obviously it's not ideal for our club, in terms of revenue, but on the other side you look at the likes of Sam, Charlie, Thelo and Baba playing for their countries...and it's difficult to be too negative.

"Although we'll lose out in terms of revenue, that won't correlate in terms of the budget for this season, or anything like how we'll travel this year...that's already been set. So while it's not ideal, there's no solution to be had, and there's a lot of clubs in the same boat."

The trip to Burton on Saturday, March 22 is also likely to be affected.

Maloney was speaking to Wigan Today at the fixture release business breakfast at the Brick Community Stadium, where Charlton will be the visitors on the opening weekend.

"It's always the first game of the season I look for first," said the Scot. "Last year we had Derby away, such a big game to start with, and Charlton is a similar size fixture this time.

"We've now got that focus in black and white, and the season starts to get a bit more real. I also look for the festive games, I always like playing at that time of year, especially Boxing Day and New Year's Day.

"You also think about our secretary, Sarah (Guilfoyle), who is immediately looking into all the travel, getting hotels booked, which obviously entails a lot of work behind the scenes."

Another talking point was the home game against near-neighbours Bolton Wanderers being scheduled for Tuesday, April 1 - on police advice.

Again, Maloney took a pragmatic view of the situation.

"I've only seen the fixtures with everyone else, but I also like these big games being played under the lights," he added. "We had Manchester United last year under the lights, also Bolton, the biggest games for our supporters.

"And when you have big games here, under the lights, it does make for an atmosphere that's even more special. I understand moving it to Tuesday might make it difficult for some supporters, but personally I don't see it as a negative on the fixture list."