Whelan frustrated by friendly dates

Last updated : 13 August 2012 By Paul Farrington

The Latics were without Gary Caldwell, Shaun Maloney, James McCarthy, and Maynor Figueroa for their final warm up game against Celta vigo last night due to international matches.

The Latics lost the fixture 1-0 and Whelan is frustrated with the timing of the international friendlies. He told the Wigan Evening Post: “It is scandalous, absolutely scandalous.

“The Premier League should stand up and be counted. They should say: ‘Sorry, you’re not doing that. You’re not having our players at certain times of the year.’

“The Premier League is called the Premier League for a very good reason. It is the premier footballing league in the world.

“And they should be strong enough to be able to stop this sort of thing from happening.

“They’re only friendlies – they’re not even competitive internationals. It shouldn’t be allowed.”

The Latics face Chelsea on Sunday in their opening Premier League fixture. The game has a 13.30 kick off and is to be screened live on television.