The Blues were downed thanks to two late Ricardo Gardner inspired goals as the Jamaican scored the first and provided the cross which saw Richard Dunne turn the ball into his own net.
Bolton’s win saw them climb off the bottom of the Barclays Premier League table and afterwards Hughes said: “We’re disappointed because we know we can play a lot better.
“Today in fairness Bolton worked hard and credit to them, but we need to be better than that, you’ve got to be more dynamic.
“We allowed too many crosses into our box and in the end they’ve got the ball where they wanted and capitalised on those situations and scored two goals.
“I think certainly in the second half we ended up playing too many long balls that really played into Bolton’s hands. They’ll always ask questions of you and keep knocking on the door.”
Goals in the 76th and 88th minute condemned City to another away defeat and Hughes added: “Our home form is excellent, but our away form is poor at the moment.
“We need to recognise where we’re weak and address those frailties. You have to be stronger in possession but we failed in that respect. We need to be stronger mentally and physically.
“They made it hard for us to play our normal game and credit to them for that, but we need to be better than that.”
