Phil Parkes: Wolves need youth and Joe Mason

Jackett's side have signed off for the international break bang on mid-table, 11 points clear of safety but 14 adrift of the play-offs,

Parkes is a regular on home matchdays and will be among the spectators when action resumes against Ipswich Town at Molineux a week on Saturday.

The 68-year-old played 303 times in goal for Wolves and broke the club record for consecutive league appearances with 127. He spent a total of 16 years on the books.

And 'Lofty' is baffled by the treatment of Mason, a £3million January signing from Cardiff City who has struggled for starts.

Since netting on his debut at home to Bolton, the Irishman has had to mainly settle for cameos from the bench. He's been selected from the off four times in 10 games.

He notched another against visiting Preston in the subsequent fixture to his bow as a substitute, but has failed to register since.

Mason, 24, arrived as the replacement for star forward Benik Afobe, who was sold to Premier League outfit Bournemouth earlier in the month.

Parkes cannot fathom why he's being used sparingly, with some supporters echoing those sentiments as they sang his name during the Birmingham City fixture 10 days ago.

The former shot-stopper would also like to see prospects such as Bright Enobakhare, Connor Hunte and Connor Ronan get the game time during what's left of the Championship campaign.

Parkes said: "I can't work it out with Mason and I don't think anybody else can, either. We've brought in a striker for big money and he's not in the team. £3m for Wolves isn't chicken feed.

"If the management is telling him 'we don't play 4-4-2' and that 'he doesn't fit into our formation,' why would you sign him?

"At this stage, I would put a few of the kids in. We are not going down or be getting into the play-offs. That doesn't mean you are writing the season off, though.

"The real question is whether Wolves punched above their weight last year (finished seventh) and are now where they should have been last season.

"It's frustrating, we beat Derby County (2-1 at home) when no one gave us a chance and I think we should have beaten Burnley (1-1 away draw last weekend).

"Then there's either games we should have won when we've drawn or lost. You never write a season off, you go out to win every game."

Parkes is refusing to accept the departure of key players and a crippling injury list as an excuse for Wolves' woes.

Bakary Sako preceded Afobe's exit to top-flight Crystal Palace last year, while striker Nouha Dicko has missed most of the season with a torn cruciate.

Jordan Graham, Dave Edwards, James Henry, Mike Williamson, Ethan Ebanks-Landell and Razak Boukari are also sidelined.

Even the recalled Jed Wallace, who was starring for team before his withdrawal, limped out of the Burnley game with a thigh problem.

But Parkes said: "They knew Sako was going, he was never going to stay so they should have been looking to replace him.

"The kid Wallace left for a while, came back and put in a Man of the Match performance. Why was he on loan at Millwall to begin with?

"It's a squad game, it isn't like when I was playing and you'd only have 12 or 13 to choose from. They should be able to cover absences."

Parkes was speaking from a fund-raiser for his late wife, Maureen, who passed away from stomach cancer in 2010.

A darts exhibition was staged at the Billy Wright pub, in Wolverhampton city centre, where his son Dean is the landlord. They raised £750 for the Maureen Parkes Cancer Fund.

Parkes said: "Over the last six years, we've bought machines for New Cross Hospital and Compton Hospice. As long as I'm still alive, we'll keep doing it."

The Black Country's top darts duo, Wolverhampton's Wayne Jones and Tipton's Jamie Hughes, starred in the exhibition on a rare weekend off from the PDC and BDO circuit respectively.

Parkes said: "I know Phil Taylor pretty well and he always gets me a couple of tickets for the Grand Slam (at Wolverhampton Civic Hall) whenever he's playing in it.

"It's as good an atmosphere as the football. I love my darts and it's great these two fantastic players were willing to give up their time to support us."