Wigan Athletic chief 'proud' of international brigade - despite the cost

Josh Magennis scored his first goal for Latics on Tuesday at Crewe, 24 hours after being named in the Northern Ireland squad for two friendlies later this month.

As things stand, Latics are scheduled to travel to Burton on March 26, meaning Magennis would be out of the equation.

"You're made up when any of your players are called up for international duty," said the Latics boss.

"To have one of your players going away to represent their country, there's no greater honour in the game.

"The news came through on Monday, we all congratulated him, and he backed that up with a fine performance and a goal at Crewe."

Latics have seen all of their previous fixtures on international weekends called off this term, but Richardson played a straight bat to questions about the Burton game.

"We've got Morecambe to worry about before Burton," he said.

"We'll give ourselves a body count and we'll see how we go from there."

The Republic of Ireland have yet to name their squad and, with James McClean and Will Keane expected to retain their spots, it could force Latics' hand.

Not that Richardson would get involved on a personal level.

When asked whether he'd speak to any of his affected players beforehand, he said: "No, not really, when the call-ups come it's an honour and a privilege.

"It's where being a club manager and an international manager differs, because both want their best players available to them at all times."