WHY did you wait until half time to change things against Barnsley? Surely the time to act was when the second goal went in? Eddie, Holmfirth

Jacko says: IT is never a wise thing to press the panic button.

Any changes to be made need to be well thought through and don't always involve mass substitutions.

During the first half against Barnsley we were giving them far too much time and space and we attempted to remedy that by sending on various instructions.

By half time, I had pretty much made up my mind I was going to send on Junior Mendes and switch our formation and it was easier to communicate everything I wanted to the lads while they were sitting in the dressing room.

I know we didn't manage to pull a goal back - if we'd got one in the early part of the second half I reckon it would have been a completely different story - but I was happier with the way we went about things.

I am not, though, going to make changes every time we go a goal behind or the opposition sting us with two.

I will make the changes I feel are right at the time I feel is right and I'll stand by those decisions.

I believe in the football we played against Hull City and Port Vale and will always go about trying to play like that.

Sometimes we fall below that standard and have to react accordingly, but making panic changes is not the way to go.

THANKS for bringing on all our young players. Are there more to come and do you think the crowd would have been bigger had England Under 20s picked Mirfin and Holdsworth? Johnny, e-mail

Jacko says: OUR young players have done extremely well in the past 15 months and I'm delighted to say we will continue to give them as much opportunity as we can.

The one I've got very high hopes for at the moment is Michael Collins, who is already representing the Republic of Ireland at age-group level.

He is a midfielder, but he played on the right wing in our practice match at Chesterfield this week and did really well.

Further down the scale is Tom Clarke, who is only 16, but if he continues to develop like he has then he's got a chance of coming right through, just like his brother Nathan.

The progress of a lot of our young players can be seen just by looking at who played in the play-off final - Holdsworth, Mirfin, Lloyd and, as a sub, John McAliskey.

Macca wasn't involved earlier in the season, but he came through to be a valuable part of what we achieved - and that shows all those hoping to make a mark this time that if they are patient and work hard, it could also happen for them.

There is a lot of hard work done by our staff in the Academy, right through from the youngest age groups, to make sure we have lads doing their very best and, since I've returned to the club, a lot of those lads have brought that hard work to fruition.

The good thing about that is that promising schoolkids can see that by joining our Academy and doing well, the door of opportunity will always be open.

If they are good enough, they will get a chance.

I am not afraid to promote young players if they show they've got what it takes and I think we are reaping the benefit of that.

On the England scene, I think it would have made good sense to pick Mirfin and Holdsworth, not just to get a bigger crowd in but because they both deserve a chance.

Mirf and Andy would not let England down and I'm sure they would have been worth another 2,000 to 3,000 people on the gate.

IS IT essential for the Reserves to play the same formation as the first team to help players make the step up? Smithylad, e-mail

Jacko says: IT does help and that's why we play 3-5-2 in the Pontin's League as much as possible.

Sometimes we swap things around in the Reserves to accommodate the personnel available, like against Scunthorpe when John McAliskey, Akpo Sodje and Junior Mendes played as a front three.

Generally speaking, though, we keep it the same as the first team - why change something which has basically been very successful for the last 12 months?

People sometimes think it's a defensive way of playing but I don't see it like that at all.

It is a hard system to break down, but it gives us a lot of attacking options when we play well and that's why we've been able to achieve the positive results that we have over a long period of time.

WILL Anthony Lloyd's stamina, pace and defensive qualities give us a better balance to the team? Chris, e-mail

Jacko says: LLOYDY did really well last season.

I felt this time that Rob Edwards had shown better quality in pre-season and that's why Lloydy was not in the team.

With Rob's injury, Lloydy has now got the chance he's been waiting for and I've no doubt he will be doing everything he can to keep the shirt.

Lloydy has a fantastic attitude, he loves to get forward and score goals - as he has been doing regularly in the Reserves this season - and he has tremendous fitness.

His biggest asset, though, is his determination and his never-say-die attitude.

ARE you concerned about the standard of refereeing? Dave Booth, Whiston

Jacko says: YES. There is no consistency.

Similar to our season in general, the standard of refereeing is very up and down.

That inconsistency leaves players and managers just not knowing where they stand.

Of the ones we've had this season, I like Graham Laws, who took charge of the game at Doncaster, and I thought Keith Hill did well at Port Vale.

Generally speaking, though, I don't think the standard is very high and I can't help but point to the penalty appeals we had against Leeds in the Carling Cup to illustrate the point.

We had four good shouts and got nothing. I reckon we should have had at least two of them, possibly three, but we drew a blank.

That's frustrating.

DO you see a future role for Rob Edwards in midfield? Jason, Mirfield

Jacko says: WE'VE already got Brandon, Schofield, Worthington, Carss and Fowler vying for places, so Rob would come into the equation only if we had injury problems.

I would be happy to play Rob anywhere, though, because I know he would never let me down.

He came as a striker, I converted him to a wing-back and he has also done the business in midfield, so he's a top man for Town and that's why I gave him a new contract.

IS there any truth in the rumour Nico Vaesen will be coming back on loan? Gav, Lindley

Jacko says: NO, because I'm happy with the keepers we've got.

This has probably come from last season, when I did speak to Steve Bruce about Nico.

It was at the time I brought in Paul Rachubka from Charlton.

Nico was already well into talks about a move to Crystal Palace, though, so nothing came of it. I have no plans to go back for him.