MAN of the moment David Mirfin will return to normal duties when Town are back in action.

The 18-year-old centre-back grabbed the headlines with his stunning appearance as a stand-in striker in the 2-0 victory at York.

Sheffield-born Mirfin, however, was pencilled in for the heart of defence tonight until the Reserves' game against Hull City at North Ferriby was postponed due to the freezing weather conditions.

Manager Peter Jackson had been hoping to field the other three outfield players who were subs at Bootham Crescent - Rob Edwards, Dwayne Mattis and Chris Holland - but he was going to rest Jon Newby in case Jon Stead (hamstring) or Andy Booth (groin) fail to prove their fitness later in the week.

Jackson joked: "Mr Mirfin has had his 15 minutes of fame, so now he can get back to some real work by playing in defence!

"It has been an incredible few days for Mirf and it really was fantastic what happened on Sunday.

"It was Gerry Murphy who told me at one stage that Mirf had played up front in the juniors and Academy team, and it just worked out that Sunday was the ideal time to throw him on and see what he could produce in the first team.

"Jon Newby was tiring towards the end and Mirf is a big strong lad who will put people under pressure and do well at set pieces as well. When I sent him on, of course, none of us knew what a remarkable success he would be, and we've always got the option of using him as an emergency frontman again."

On Newby being rested, Jackson added: "Jon has worked extremely hard to get back to this stage after a major operation and he hasn't had much football.

"I was desperate for him to get a goal at York because that's all he needs. He is a confidence player and, once he gets one goal, I've no doubt he will get a lot more.

"I'm expecting Steady and Boothy to be all right, but you never know. Jon did well for a solid 80 minutes alongside Nat Brown on Sunday and, if I need him again down at Bristol, I need him to be nice and fresh."

Town - who face an anxious wait on the weather for Saturday's trip to the Memorial Ground - have still had no further offers for Stead.

Latest speculation in the north east is that Sunderland, who offloaded Michael Gray from their wage bill yesterday (to Blackburn) will return next week with a fresh bid if Stead doesn't leave before Saturday's transfer window closes.

Town's trip to Carlisle on Saturday, February 28, is all-ticket for Town fans following the 3,355 who made the trip to Bootham Crescent.

The club have 1,800 tickets and they went on sale to season-ticket holders today.

Prices are £14 for adults and £5 (seniors and Under 16s) and any remaining tickets will go on general sale on Monday, February 16.

Survival Trust members are reminded of tonight's important meeting at the McAlpine (7.30) when decisions will be made about the use of Trust funds.