WHERE do you think we will finish this season and are you still working on signing a defender? Helen, Holmbridge

Jacko says: I THINK we have thrown away 15 to 20 points this season, so it's very disappointing not to be further up the table.

We always knew it would be a difficult season, having stepped up a level and having brought in just two players to add to the squad which did so well last term.

I think we have adapted pretty well to this division, we are comfortable at this level and we pick up compliments wherever we go.

But we need to put more points on the board.

If we finish in the top 10 then it will be a fantastic achievement.

At one stage, it looked like we would make a strong challenge for the play-offs, but our inconsistency has let us down on that front.

The flip side is that we've got a lot of young players in the side and they are tremendous kids to work with.

Not only have they all been brought up well, but they are a pleasure to be around and really keen to learn and progress.

At the moment, we are probably a couple of players short of being a really, really good side in this division.

Our younger players are gaining experience all the time, however, and they will only get better and better.

If we can make the addition of the right couple of players in the not too distant future then we will be well set and, as everyone knows, I am still very much on the lookout for bringing in a defender.

WILL Matthew Young get a run in the first-team before the end of the season? Dan, London

Jacko says: MATTY is doing really well and he has featured in squads before now, but I don't feel it's quite the right time to play him just at the moment.

We are very happy with him, though, and he's yet another one to come off our Academy production line.

With Tom Clarke, Adnan Ahmed and John McCombe the latest to get their chance at senior level, it continues a tremendous record for home-grown talent at this club.

It also proves what a well-run Academy we've got and we will attract better-quality youngsters to Huddersfield Town.

That's because they know if they are good enough, they will play.

And, as manager, I'm not frightened to play the kids when I feel the time is right.

I think it's fair to say, too, that all the lads who have played here in the last 18 months have shown that they've got bright futures.

ARE you frustrated that despite financial windfalls such as the play-offs, the sale of Jon Stead and gates of almost 12,000 you are not getting support from the club to buy the players we obviously need? Lee, Mirfield

Jacko says: I'M not frustrated.

I knew the situation when I came back to the club and I knew there wouldn't be pots of money to sign players.

Gone are the days when this club could splash out £600,000 and £700,000 on a player - those days are gone for most clubs, in fact.

The bedrock of this club will be producing players through the Academy - a scheme we invest heavily in - and I'm well aware of how we need to work to develop the squad.

I knew from the outset that money would be tight for a number of years, largely because a huge sum of money had to be paid back to the former squad after administration.

Massive strides have been made towards doing that and the club has done fantastically both on and off the field.

I'm very proud of the football side and Ken Davy and the board have backed me all the way.

I can't speak highly enough of Ken and the directors and they want the club to be run properly.

They don't want to see Huddersfield Town suffering the sort of problems again which were evident before I returned.

The club was a complete shambles and near to closing down.

Every manager would love to have money to just go out and buy players on big fees and not have to worry about the finances.

That's simply not realistic in this day and age, however, so we have to build in a different way.

Winning promotion was a fantastic achievement last season and now we have to look ahead.

This season has been a big learning curve for us but, hopefully, in the next couple of years we'll be able to build a squad using the Academy, bring new players in as others leave and take us up to the Championship, which is where we belong.

GIVEN our recent form and the fact the gap to the bottom four is only seven points, do you think we could be faced with a relegation battle? Daniel Stevanato, e-mail

Jacko says: IT depends on how we do in the next few games.

We need to get to 50 points as quickly as we can, so we need another three or four wins to move us in the right direction.

We have drifted down the standings in recent weeks because of our inability to kill-off games.

Three or four weeks ago we were talking in terms of needing 10 wins to push for the play-offs, whereas I look at the table now and think we need three or four wins to be safe.

It's important, too, with home games against Blackpool and Oldham on the horizon - two clubs below us in the table - that we take maximum points off them.

WHICH of the first-team players' contracts run out at the end of the season? Chris, e-mail

Jacko says: THE Sodje brothers, Steve Yates (who is retiring), Rob Edwards, Tony Carss, Adnan Ahmed and John McCombe.

Obviously there are some younger players whose contracts are up as well.

What happens with all of them will depend on how things go over the next few weeks and some big decisions will have to be made.

Who will be kept and who will be let go?

I do intend to extend the contracts of certain younger players, while some players will have to go to bring others in.

WHEN we have a half-time lead, wouldn't it be wise to be more defensive in the second half of matches? JV, Huddersfield

Jacko says: I BELIEVE we have taken the lead in nine of the last 14 matches, but individual mistakes have cost us dearly.

People have suggested it could be a lack of fitness in the squad, but that's absolute rubbish.

The real cause has been a lack of concentration at vital times.

I certainly don't want to change our style of play and attitude to the game, because going forward we are an excellent side.

Defensively, though, we have conceded some sloppy goals at key periods.

Just before and just after half time seem to be weaknesses, while last weekend at MK Dons it was just before the end of the game that the crucial mistake was made.

If we cut out the individual mistakes then we will be fine - as was shown last season when we kept a lot of clean sheets.

Just to finish off, could I ask everyone who comes down to the Galpharm tomorrow to get right behind the young lads out there on the pitch.

The support at home against Luton was absolutely superb and something similar tomorrow would be a massive help to our young team at the height of battle.