Derek McInnes admits Kilmarnock were left reeling by Wigan's last-gasp decision to recall Jordan Jones on transfer deadline day.
In the end, the move did not come to fruition due to an administrative error on the Championship side's part.
But the Rugby Park boss has detailed how the eleventh hour call by Shaun Maloney's side left the Ayrshire outfit in a sticky situation so late in the window.
However, Jones remains a Killie player until the end of the season. McInnes is hoping the 28-year-old can make an impact to help his team stay in the division but also get back to Hampden in the Scottish Cup.
He said: "Basically Wigan came in late in the transfer window, you know, with half an hour to go and Jordan went back to them.
"The timing of that was really poor from our point of view. We were really disappointed and angry I suppose that was the case. It didn't need to be that way.
"Then it came out a few days later that Wigan had an issue registering his paperwork on time. It left Jordan in such a poor situation where he had no way to play other than coming back.
READ MORE: Jordan Jones returns to Kilmarnock from Wigan after administration error
"So, we still had the decision about whether we wanted to bring him back.
"I asked Jordan to come up and speak to us. We had a good heart-to-heart, really. We chatted it through. We bring Jordan back into the fold and hopefully as we say he can have an impact for us between now and the end of the season."
Jones will likely be involved on Saturday as Killie travel to Easter Road to take on Hibs.
The Rugby Park's away form in the Premiership has been absolutely woeful, picking up just two points on the road all season.
Brad Lyons started last weekend as Killie picked up a rare away result at Dundee United in the cup.
And the midfielder reckons that could be the catalyst McInnes' side needed.
He commented: "We feel it was a real turning point, 100 per cent. Especially with the way that we played.
"I thought we dominated large spells of the game. The gaffer loves clean sheets and we kept that.
"We defended really well and created a lot of chances ourselves. So it is a great confidence booster. We're going in very confident on Saturday for the three points."
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