CITY have failed in their attempt to bring in one last player before the transfer deadline.

Mark Hughes confirmed after today’s 1-1 draw with Mansfield that the EFL had not sanctioned the deal with the unnamed target.

“It’s gone. We pretty much knew at the time if you don’t get the papers in.

“It wasn’t our fault. It was at the other end unfortunately.

“Once you’re over the deadline that’s it. There’s a precedent for it.

“Teams in the past have been knocked back for being 14-15 seconds over. We weren’t quite that close to it but we weren’t far off.

“That’s what happens on deadline day. If you get them over the line, it’s good but it’s fraught with danger.

“We’ll just move on, I’m not too concerned.”

Hughes may look to revisit the deal in the next window but knows circumstances might have changed.

“It depends. A lot of things need to fall into place once again.

“In the summer, maybe the player that we’re after will have more options. You can’t really say but we’ll see.”

Hughes was frustrated to see City denied by another late equaliser after Alfie Kilgour’s stoppage-time header cancelled out Andy Cook’s 17th goal of the season.

“The result is disappointing because I thought we’d done enough,” he admitted. “It’s hard to take when you’ve led for so long and conceded so late in the day.

“I thought we put in a decent performance and there was a lot of energy expended. If we get the second goal, it’s game over but it wasn’t to be.

“For the most part we kept them at arm’s length. They had five or six shots that didn’t really create any concern for us.

“They had one opportunity when we cleared off the line. We just needed to see the game out to a conclusion.

“You saw the reaction when they got the late equaliser. You’d have thought they won the FA Cup.

“We need to have that game management. It shouldn’t really be a feeling where we’re anxious - we should have enough nous and understanding to see the game out.”

Alex Gilliead was named captain in the absence of Richie Smallwood, who was unavailable because he was with his family.

Hughes said: “Credit to Gilly today, I thought he was excellent and fully deserved to be man of the match. He’s a leader in the group anyway, he’s vocal in the dressing room and very experienced.

“I think giving him the armband gave him a boost as well which I thought it would.”