Bristol Rovers' chairman Nick Higgs has labelled the side's 5-0 midweek thrashing at Leyton Orient as the biggest embarrassment during his spell in charge.

But he insisted the club remains ambitious and said money has been available throughout the season to strengthen the squad.

Rovers' management team came under fire from fans this week when they failed to secure a new marksman to bolster the side – despite allowing striker Darryl Duffy to join Carlisle on loan.

Higgs said: "Money has been available throughout the whole of this season to strengthen the squad.

"We are running with the highest wage bill we have ever had, so we can not be criticised for a lack of ambition."

Rovers have been on the lookout for a new marksman since Rickie Lambert's £1 million departure to Southampton earlier in the season.

They hoped Charlton striker Chris Dickson could fit the bill, but his loan spell fizzled out disappointingly after a promising start.

"There has not been a great deal spent on transfer fees, but we have increased the wage bill significantly. We have secured some of our better young players, but money has been available," said Higgs.

"We have been unfortunate that we haven't found the players Paul Trollope and Lennie Lawrence feel could do the job for us. If it is deemed to be a good investment, we will consider everything seriously.

"I am not going to say that we are going to throw money around willy nilly because there is no point.

"We have seen it at other clubs – you can continue to throw money into the transfer market, but it doesn't exactly buy you success."

On Duffy's departure to Carlisle for the rest of the season, Higgs said: "The decision was made by the management team that it was best for Darryl to go. We have got to try and strengthen the squad in the right areas.

"We have been very close to signing two or three Championship strikers, but for one reason or another they have not gone through – some because they have decided to go to other clubs, and some because the clubs in question won't release them until they have brought new players in. They have all fallen foul at the last minute."

Manager Trollope said after the Brisbane Road thrashing that Rovers might have to bring in more fresh faces than previously planned when the loan market reopens on Monday.

And Higgs said: "We are still continuing to look in the next few weeks to strengthen the squad and bring in a striker.

"We are looking to bring in players who want to pull on the shirt and play for Bristol Rovers. There is money available, there has been money available all season."

Higgs admitted he was shocked to see the side cave in against Orient on Tuesday, as they conceded four second-half goals to suffer the heaviest defeat of Trollope's managerial career.

He said: "It surprised us to see the team capitulate as the game went on. Signs were there on Saturday that things weren't going very well, but Tuesday was a surprise to say the least.

"I think it was the most embarrassing performance I have sat through since my reign as chairman at the club. Two weeks ago at Huddersfield we put on a superb team performance, but this was chalk and cheese

"It worries me, but we have got to have it in perspective. We are in a better position than we were this time last year – we are still ninth in the league and you have to take the positives.

"I had a long discussion with Lennie after the game and another with Paul yesterday, and we are going into this with a positive frame of mind to try and find out what went wrong, do an inquest and hopefully get things right for Saturday and move on again.

"We haven't significantly changed the squad, despite the considerable efforts to do so over the last month or so.

"We had a resounding victory against a very good Swindon side, then we had a few postponements and went to Huddersfield and played extremely well against one of the high-ranking sides in our division. It left you feeling quite good.

"But the last two performances have gone completely the other way."

Rovers have another away game at Walsall on Saturday and despite the recent slump in results – and just one point from the last 27 away on opposition soil – Higgs remains optimistic the side can still challenge for the play-offs.

"I think it's still a realistic goal if we can turn things around," he said.

"It's not like we're looking over our shoulder at relegation and I think we have to take heart from that and be positive.

"It's now down to Paul and Lennie to sit down with the team and try to get to the bottom of what's gone wrong."