IPSWICH Town midfielder Colin Healy yesterday took manager Paul Jewell to task over his humiliating early withdrawal at the weekend, claiming: ‘subbing me was too easy’.

The 31-year-old has – by his manager’s own admission – been a model professional this season, working hard in training despite having fallen out of the first-team picture.

His patience was finally rewarded when Jewell decided to throw him straight into the starting line-up as a direct replacement for the injured Lee Bowyer on Saturday.

However, with Town quickly going 2-0 down to rock-bottom Doncaster, Healy was taken off after just 28th minutes as Jewell made a tactical reshuffle – the Irishman storming straight down the tunnel.

Fellow midfielder Jimmy Bullard, once again well below-par, was let off the embarrassment of an early substitution, instead being given the hook at the break.

“Colin’s not happy at all,” admitted Jewell, whose side battled back from 3-0 down at half-time to salvage a slightly more respectable 3-2 loss. “He’s come into my office and voiced his dissent which he’s entitled to do.

“I said after the game that I could have brought any of my midfielders off at that stage and Colin thinks it was an easy decision for it to be him.

“It was a horrible situation. I very nearly made two changes at the same time, but I thought we’d have a look first and make the other one at half-time.

“As the manager of the team I have to make those kind of decisions and I can promise you I don’t make any decision lightly – especially the sort which sees me bring someone off in the first half.

“Colin’s a terrific pro, a good lad, but I had to change something because we were getting bossed all over the pitch. I have to do what I think is right.”

Jewell, who dropped Trinidadian duo Carlos Edwards and Jason Scotland for the game because he felt both were ‘flat’ and ‘sluggish’ respectively, added: “I spoke to Carlos on Friday because I like to speak to players and tell them why they’re not playing if I’m leaving them out. He didn’t like it, but I don’t know any player that likes being left out.

“If people have something to say to me they can say it and we move on. At the end of the day I make decisions that are unpopular, but so will the next manager and the manager after that.”