Hibs boss John Hughes chasing signings until window shuts

The Hibs boss was quick off the mark when the transfer window opened at the beginning of the month, snapping up goalkeeper Graeme Smith on a free transfer from Brighton.

However, he revealed today that, since then, he's had "five or six doors" shut in his face as he's striven to bring further new faces to the club. But Hughes insisted he is undeterred in his hunt for further signings, well aware that often it only needs one move to begin a "domino effect" as managers bid to freshen their squads for the final few months of the season.

Hughes, of course, has been credited with a string of possible targets, the Hibs boss expressing his exasperation at having his name linked with the likes of Russell Anderson, Alan Gow, Darryl Duffy and Mark Brown, among others.

The only star Hughes conceded interest in was Falkirk skipper Darren Barr, although that was brought to an abrupt end when the defender opted to agree a pre-contract deal which will see him join Hearts in the summer.

Otherwise, he declared, names were simply being "plucked out of the air", the Hibs boss accepting gossip and rumour as part of the game but preferring to keep his intentions private until deals were clinched.

To that end, Hughes and his assistant Brian Rice have been working hard behind the scenes to make things happen.

And they are adamant they won't make signings simply for the sake of it as they point to the likes of Patrick Cregg, Lewis Stevenson, Daniel Galbraith, Kevin McCann, Darren McCormack and Steven Thicot patiently waiting for their chance to claim a regular place in the side.

Hughes said: "At this moment we've had five or six doors shut in our face.

"It's not for the want of trying, we've been all over the place looking. We've been to see players on our list who have turned out not tobe any better than we have at the moment."

And, while admitting there was no guarantee he'd have a new signing to parade by Tuesday morning, Hughes added: "We'll still be looking but anyone we bring in has to be the right one."

The return of Sol Bamba from the African Cup of Nations adds to Hughes' options immediately, although Paul Hanlon has taken his chance during his fellow defender's absence on international duty to further his claim in the victories over Hamilton and Celtic.

Hughes said: "We have players on the bench desperate to play and I've been telling them they must train as hard as they can, to be ready and when the chance comes to make sure they are man of the match, then they won't go out of the team."