Simon Grayson has not given up hope of signing Jermaine Beckford but the Huddersfield manager knows he will have to be patient.
Beckford, a prolific goalscorer when playing under Grayson at Leeds, was set to join the Terriers on transfer deadline day last month but the Foxes pulled the plug on the deal at the eleventh hour.
Grayson revealed he is still looking to add to his strikeforce after watching his side beat Derby 1-0 courtesy of Danny Ward's goal after 47 seconds at the John Smith's Stadium.
And the Huddersfield boss is prepared to play the waiting game in the hope of bringing Beckford back to West Yorkshire.
Grayson said: "I think the Beckford deal will probably be off for a while, I'm disappointed we couldn't conclude that on deadline day but we will see what's available.
"I'm pleased with the options I've got, but Jermaine's deal would have been the icing on the cake. I could go and sign another striker tomorrow but I don't think the ones that are available are any better than what we've got."
When asked about the possibility of signing Beckford, Grayson added: "I think it's been put on the back burner from Leicester's point of view, I think they're going to keep him for a while but you never know in football, we thought we'd done a deal but things can change quickly."
Grayson also revealed he hopes to sign Adam Hammill on a permanent basis after the on-loan Wolves winger set up Ward's winner on his home debut.
"We've not got a deal in place, but we'll see where we get with that one in January," he said. "He's just happy to play football, he had to take a pay cut to come here."
After a terrible start, Derby got into their stride in the second half in particular and Grayson was pleased to see his side dig deep for all three points.
He added: "We knew Derby would have a lot of the ball because that's how they play, they pass and move it. Sometimes you have to be solid as a team and don't give them the space to exploit you.
"I thought for all the possession Derby had, they didn't really give Alex Smithies too many saves to make and we looked a threat on the counter-attack.
"I'm delighted with the clean sheet and a victory and the most important thing was the attitude we showed when we were under pressure and the desire not to get beaten.
"They're a good team, I watched them against Watford, they went to Wolves and got a good draw and should have won, so we've come up against a good team."
Rams boss Nigel Clough was at a loss to explain his side's sluggish start and was left frustrated with their lack of quality in the final third.
He said: "We've been starting games well but we didn't do that today. It set us back a bit. The goal gave them a massive lift and then we didn't really get going until the second half.
"We got into it a little bit in the first half, but the second half we got really got on the ball but it was a bit late.
"We were a little bit flat (in the first half). We got into some great positions to cross the ball and we chose not to do it. We were not doing the basic things well and didn't make the right decisions in the final third. Some of our play up to the edge of the box was excellent in the second half."
