What looked like being celebrated as a famous 3-2 comeback from 2-0 down was wrecked by a late equaliser from Burnley substitute Kevin McDonald for his team’s first away point of the season.
Manager Hughes, who has not enjoyed a League win for over a month, said: “First half we never really imposed ourselves as I know we can and conceded two poor goals. But then we picked ourselves up and showed some of the qualities I expected from the start.
“For the vast majority of the second half I thought we were excellent. It was a huge effort on our part, but then we shot ourselves in the foot again and switched off.
“At the moment we are struggling to to take the sting out of things. You have to give the opposition no encouragement - you have to see them off, discourage them. You have to make them think there is nothing for them.
“Defending is a collective duty. We have to stop things at source before they develop. Maybe we have to work exceptionally hard to stop balls coming in to their front men. That’s a part of our game we are not doing very well at. It’s about working hard and making sure we improve.
“We started the season like a house on fire - we knew there would be games where we didn’t function like that. But we are still picking up points. Obviously we are disappointed today, but credit to the lads, they nearly turned it round.”
Hughes and his coaching staff have time to take stock of City’s first quarter, with no Premier League match until the Blues face Liverpool at Anfield on November 21.
He admitted: “Ten or 11 games in, I think we’re doing OK, no more and no less than that. There will be times when we look like what we are - a team still coming together and trying to gel. There are things we need to tighten up on.”
