Josh Magennis: NI striker on Christmas as a footballer and his sons' aims of following in his footsteps

Magennis is the current Wigan Athletic captain and his side take on Derby County on Boxing Day

Christmas Day is the most magical day of year for many people, but for footballers, it resembles another day at the office.

The festive period is one of the busiest in the football calendar. Many clubs train on Christmas Day, with fixtures traditionally scheduled for Boxing Day.

During his 17-year professional career, Northern Ireland and Wigan Athletic forward Josh Magennis has learnt how best to combine enjoying the festive period with family with the demanding fixture list.

"Christmas is crazy, as a footballer, it is the busiest time of the year, you have a game every three days," he told BBC Sport NI.

"When I first met my wife she asked me, 'why are you not really into Christmas?' but by the time I get Christmas Day out of the way I am thinking about the game on Boxing Day," conceded the 33-year old.

"We have made it work to manage timings and locations, but it is tricky for us around Christmas."

'I have the full works Christmas dinner'

Magennis, who has won 76 caps for Northern Ireland, admits that his outlook on Christmas has changed since having children, 10-year old Cohen and eight year old Jenson, who are both aspiring footballers.

"Since we had kids that all changed, we have had visits from Santa, we have had Elf on the Shelf and we went to see Santa in Lapland, which has been amazing.

"Christmas is all about family and sharing good quality time. It is just complete tranquillity with the kids finished school and football. There is lots of food and chocolate!"

With Wigan hosting Derby County in a League One game on Boxing Day, Magennis is set to have training on Christmas Day, but the striker still intends to enjoy a full Christmas dinner, albeit in an unconventional way.

"I have an early Christmas dinner around 11.30am or 12pm, the full works. Then at night I will have a pasta dish to get my football meal in."

Football family

Josh Magennis with his sons Jenson (left) and Cohen (right) celebrating Hull's promotion with Callum Elder

The Magennis household revolves around football all year round, as they try to manage the demands of Josh's League One season along with sons Cohen and Jenson's football schedules.

Cohen is at Wigan's academy, whilst younger brother Jenson is at Manchester City's academy, with their father Josh immensely proud of the progress they have made already.

"To see what they have been able to achieve up to this point, is nothing short of a blessing. The boys are well rounded and they are in a good position to flourish.

"I used to drop them off at training and games and never watch because I didn't want to feel that I was overstepping the boundary, but slowly but surely, I started to go watch and it is fantastic to see their journey."

In order to manage their fledgling careers, Magennis and his wife Amy have had to take up chauffeuring duty, with the forward explaining how busy a typical week is for the family.

"The boys have training on Tuesday. We go straight from school and it is from 4pm-8pm.

"Wednesday is a down day, or they will have a coaching camp for a top-up session with a coach from Man City, if they want it."

He continued: "On Thursday they have training from 4pm-8pm, then Saturday and Sunday it is all day, 10am-5pm. It is full on, but they want to do it.

"I ask them all the time do they still want to play and they do, so we're happy to chaperone."

Magennis, who started his career with Glentoran before moving to the Cardiff City academy, knows the challenges that lies ahead for his sons, but believes they are in the best environments to make a career in football.

"When I came through at an academy, you needed to perform, it was all about performance and you as a person was second. Now the clubs are person and performance orientated.

"We're fully embracing their journey. It could go on, like I have for 17 years and they can play until their dreams come true, or it may only last one or two years, but the memories we have as a family can never be taken away from us."