Nigel Pearson admitted the occasion got the better of Han-Noah Massengo with the Bristol City midfielder in tears after the full-time whistle.
In what increasingly appears to be his final appearance for the Reds, the City manager started the midfielder in the absence of Joe Williams who missed out with an Achilles problem.
Massengo, 20, struggled to make an impact in the contest and was substituted in the 54th minute, replaced by George Tanner who was making his first appearance since the hamstring injury picked up at the end of last year.
At the full-time whistle, Massengo was visibly emotional as he stood and applauded the travelling away supporters who had made the long trip up north to watch the Robins lose 2-0 to Huddersfield in the final game of the season.
After the game, Pearson admitted he had sympathy for the popular midfielder. He said: "I think today was probably a little step too far.
"The occasion affected him. He’s a young man who’s a super lad but I felt for him a bit today because he was playing against a very good side and he will be a bit emotional as well. We’ll see what happens."
Pearson also confirmed the club have yet to receive an offer for the Frenchman, despite reported interest from Lyon and Freiberg who were hopeful of signing Massengo in January.
He added: "I’ve said what I said in the week. He hasn’t left yet, he’ll only leave if it suits us.
"We haven’t received any offers. There was speculation last year but we didn’t receive any last year and we haven’t so far this year.
"There is still a potential for him to be here. Sorry to pour water on that story. We’ll see what happens basically. Everybody is in the plans until they take themselves out of it."
City went into the contest on the back of five games without defeat but were undone by two first-half goals through Harry Toffolo and Danny Ward as the hosts cemented third place in the Championship.
Pearson was happy with how his side performed on the whole but admitted it was just a gulf in quality that was the difference. He also admitted injuries to Timm Klose and Robbie Cundy towards the end were a reflection on how much the side have pushed themselves to the limit both physically and mentally this season.
"We had a right good go at it against a very good team. They’re as good as anybody in this league," he added.
"Look, sometimes the difference is just the key moments and we have relied very heavily on our front three, we haven’t not scored on many occasions.
"They have got real pace and power. I thought it would be an interesting game but I suppose the higher you go and the sides that you play who are better than you, when you have your chances you have to take them and it didn’t quite happen for us today.
"For a lot of our players it’s the first season in the Championship and it is a tough one to succeed in and it’s a tough one to be able to perform at your best every week.
"If Joe Williams was on there, Joe and Matty are very good but we gave the ball away carelessly at times, passing the ball out for a throw when it would be easier to keep it, that happened a few times.
"That only needs to happen on a few occasions in the game for the players to start getting frustrated with themselves. I think the players have been stretched to the limit both physically and mentally at times but also in terms of their ability."
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