STEVE Parkin felt it was “inevitable” that James Hanson was left out by City today.

Hanson came off the bench in the 3-1 win at Rochdale as Steve Davies partnered Devante Cole up front.

City assistant boss Parkin said: “It was the right time to give him a breather. Hans plays every game and never gets a rest.

“He comes back for set-pieces against as well as for us and is key to them; you expect him to win headers all the time and to run in behind (defences).

“The other night he looked jaded and tired.

“To be fair to him, Hans has done a fantastic job for our club and will still carry on doing so.

“He didn’t play particularly well for whatever reason (against Colchester) and Davies is chomping at the bit to show everybody what a good player he is.

“He’s getting fitter and stronger and he’s still classed in my mind as another target man if Hanson’s not playing, which he showed today.”

Ben Williams also returned in goal after Brad Jones was axed following his midweek error. Gary Liddle was restored in midfield and Rory McArdle was back after his illness.

Kyel Reid kicked off his loan from Preston with a starring role in City's impressive second-half display.

Parkin added: “We had lots of chats over the last few days about team selection.

“We wanted a very committed, physical team to play against a high-energy, pressing side that Rochdale are and I think we got exactly that.”