'It's not a risk playing for your country, it's a reward'

Striker Josh Magennis has won 82 caps for Northern Ireland and will beryllium portion of BBC Sport NI's sum of Saturday's friends pinch Denmark aft missing nan crippled done injury.

The quality successful nan cognition towards summertime friendlies now compared to erstwhile I started, it's nighttime and day.

I really made my debut during 1 of these windows.

Under Nigel Worthington, we went to America and we played Turkey and Chile successful 2010. I had sewage called successful precocious because truthful galore group pulled retired done wounded aliases had different plans.

While I benefited from it massively, location were a batch of group talking astir who wasn't available. The only elder pros were Gareth McAuley and Stephen Craigan, everyone other either from nan Under-21s aliases early connected successful their career. 

But erstwhile Michael O'Neill came in, he laid it retired clearly. He said if you're not available in nan summer, you're not disposable successful season. That's what turned astir nan availability. He conscionable asked for that buy-in.

Then elder players for illustration Steven Davis toeing nan statement made a pathway for nan up and coming boys, nan likes of myself, Corry Evans, Oli Norwood, to conscionable travel suit.

What makes Michael different is his man management, really he handles different men. He doesn't mollycoddle you, he doesn't micromanage you.

When you're working, he expects you to springiness everything you've got, erstwhile you person a spot of downtime, you're free.

He gives you nan parameters, to look aft yourself, but he doesn't show you what to do.

And if he finds retired personification has been messing around, he's sewage that ruthlessness astir him that you won't beryllium back.

It's not a fearfulness facet arsenic such, I deliberation it's conscionable respect. Boys cognize not to transverse a line.

Then erstwhile you get results, it's easy for group to travel and Michael managed to do that rather early connected successful his Northern Ireland profession nan first clip information and past again coming back.

If you don't cognize wherever you'll beryllium playing adjacent season, nan biggest consequence facet is injury, but that tin hap anyplace astatine immoderate time.

And erstwhile your nine early is uncertain, I deliberation there's a trading constituent to playing world football.

If you're playing League One aliases Championship, group will beryllium reasoning if Michael O'Neill is picking him to play elder world football, he must person immoderate qualities.

That's nan measurement I've ever looked astatine it, going into nan summer.

There's nary grey area for me, I emotion playing for my country.

Last twelvemonth erstwhile I was looking for a club, if I was going to get injured and it was my past games, if I was capable to opportunity I did it playing for Northern Ireland, I'd person had nary problems pinch that.

 I don't deliberation that's conscionable me, that's each of us. Nobody thinks it's a chore, cipher thinks it's difficult work.

It's not a consequence playing for your country, it's a reward. You can't apical it.

I've ever loved playing for my state but you don't realise really overmuch you'll miss it until you aren't doing it anymore.

Firstly erstwhile I wasn't successful nan squad for March arsenic Michael knows what I tin do and wanted a look astatine different players, and past now because of my hep surgery.

This week, you miss nan camaraderie, gathering up connected nan first nighttime and having nan chats, talking to boys astir their season.

But it conscionable keeps that occurrence burning to get backmost into pre-season, to support doing what you do, and to make judge you get called backmost successful for nan World Cup qualifiers coming up successful September.

Josh Magennis was speaking to BBC Sport NI's Jonathan Bradley.

Watch Denmark v Northern Ireland unrecorded connected BBC iPlayer and BBC Two NI; perceive connected BBC Sounds and travel unrecorded matter commentary & in-play clips connected nan BBC Sport website. Kick-off successful Copenhagen connected Saturday is astatine 18:00 BST.