I DON’T know whether Paul Jewell is a follower of rock group legends, “The Who,” or their main songwriter Pete Townsend.

I DON’T know whether Paul Jewell is a follower of rock group legends, “The Who,” or their main songwriter Pete Townsend.

But Ipswich Town’s new manager certainly doesn’t subscribe to the sentiments reflected in the group’s famous “Substitute” hit single, which Townsend penned way back in 1966.

Employing substitutes does not come naturally to Jewell, unless there is a good reason.

Instead, Jewell follows the theory – ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.’

The Town boss did not make any changes, during Tuesday night’s 2-1 win at Derby, and that was also the case in the previous league game against Doncaster Rovers.

In fact, to date Jewell has only made one substitution in his first three league games. The exception was when he introduced striker Jason Scotland for holding midfielder Mark Kennedy after 76 minutes of the 2-1 defeat at Millwall.

One used substitute in 180 minutes is a far cry from the days of Roy Keane – the former Town boss very rarely kept all seven of his substitutes on the bench.

In fact, the Irishman never kept the same side on the pitch, from the first whistle to the final whistle, during his 29 games in charge this season.

By contrast, Jewell explained the reasoning behind his reluctance to make substitutions, on the eve of this afternoon’s home game against Sheffield United.

“It goes back to when I was a young lad at Liverpool, when there was only one substitute in those days,” said Jewell.

“I think you need to pick what you think is your best team.

“Later there were three subs, then there were five and now there are seven. Sometimes you can almost have too much choice.

“I remember being the manager of Bradford, when funnily enough we were playing Sheffield United.

“This guy behind the dug-out, after 10 minutes, wanted me to take Lee Mills off, Darren Moore, Robbie Blake and John Dreyer, and I only had three subs!

“It’s too easy sometimes to make those decisions.

“I think when it’s working, it’s better to just let it be, and not rush into changes.

“Sometimes it can be harder not to make changes, because it’s easy to react to a certain situation and say - get him off.

“I use subs when and if I think they are relevent,” added Jewell.

Today’s seven substitutes will be hoping for a change of heart from their new manager, otherwise they could be facing another long, cold afternoon on the Ipswich Town bench!