McCarthy was going anyway, but the two targets Sam had in mind for a replacement never came through as the club ran out of time on deadline day.
Manchester City striker Benjani Mwaruwari was Sam’s original target, but he decided that he would be better off joining Sunderland on loan rather than Join Rovers on a permanent deal.
Sam also revealed that another target, Aruna Dindane, had completed his medical at Blackburn's Brockhall training complex on Monday but had to be turned away at five o'clock as the paperwork had not been finalised.
Allardyce said: "We tried to sign Benjani on a full-time basis but the work permit was a big problem, getting it through on time. Then it could only become a loan scenario. He wasn't the only player we went for - we went for many players before that but couldn't get it to a conclusion."