Hatters boss '˜fed up' having to make early changes

Glen Rea replaced Olly Lee at half time against Grimsby

After the 25-year-old was hauled off inside the opening 30 minutes at Cambridge United a fortnight ago, Lee didn’t reappear for the second half of the 2-1 defeat to the Mariners, with Glen Rea on in his place.

Jones had previously been critical of the midfielder’s defensive duties and when asked why he made the switch, he said: “That was tactical and I’m fed up of making early tactical decisions in that position, so something has to change.

“I’ll probably beat myself up about that because Glen’s been away for two games (on international duty) but when he plays, he gives us that aggression and that real defending nous in there.

“That’s what you need from that position, isn’t just a free playing midfield player, it’s a real important role, so that’s my fault there.”

Rea also got Town back into the game, notching his first ever professional goal with a fine 25-yard strike into the bottom corner.

Jones continued: “He’s not in there to score goals, he’s in there to shore things up, but we looked better when he came on, looked more secure, had a bit more aggression because to be fair to him, he is a bit more aggressive and had a right go.

“It’s just the others weren’t really at it today and lets not be too down, we’ve been in excellent form, it’s just disappointing.”

Rea himself is hoping to reclaim his place in the team after missing last weeks 4-1 win over Wycombe due to time away with the Ireland U21s as he said: “I want to play every game, no matter where I play, I want to give it my best, so I want to do everything I can to stay in the team.

“Olly’s a great player and it’s good competition, it’s healthy competition through the whole team. That’s why it’s such a good squad and we’re doing well, bar today obviously.”

Jones also took off striker Danny Hylton moments before the break after he was involved in a heavy aerial challenge, adding: “Danny Hylton picked up a knock on his face, we don’t know whether it was an elbow or something, but we just felt it was best as he wasn’t right, so we brought on Isaac (Vassell).”