Tony Mowbray admits he will have make every pound in his budget stretch – which could just mean one more permanent signing through the door this summer.

Mowbray said last week he felt Rovers were three or four players short of launching a sustained bid for the top six this season, and was waiting on an answer on his No.1 left back target.

However, after the 5-0 win over Wycombe, Mowbray suggested that business at Ewood could be quieter than expected within the remaining finances available, pouring cold water on links with a move for QPR left back Ryan Manning, despite confirming he is an admirer of the 24-year-old.

Rovers have signed Sam Gallagher and Ben Brereton for big fees in the last two summer windows, but Mowbray says the current financial climate means such a level of finance isn’t available this time around.

He said: "If you have enough players who are driven, don't accept defeat, or that you can win one, lose a few, draw a couple, we don't want to finish mid-table any more.

"While we've had amazing support, I feel we're almost on the cusp of having a pretty good team in this league this year but yet here we are, where in previous years we've been able to buy a £5m centre forward and a £6m striker, we are this close, yet this year because of Covid it's not there for us and I'm not sure we're right bang in the middle of it.

"We'll wait and see. There are bigger tests to come for us and let's see where we are."

Rovers have so far added goalkeeper Thomas Kaminski and central defender Daniel Ayala to their squad, with Mowbray having suggested last week that a deal for a left back was close.

However, as things stand, it is understood that Rovers aren’t any closer to adding to their squad, with Mowbray having held talks with the club’s hierarchy at the back end of last week.

Rovers will now have to manage the remaining finances available to them, but the manager admits that might not see them able to strengthen in the all the positions he feels are necessary.

“I would say there’s money to buy a player who could help us get to where we want to be, or we could loan two or three, and use that money for salary, but then that becomes dead money at the end of the year.

“We are talking about building a club so our ultimately our decision will be whether we’re going to loan some players that can help us in a one-off season or buy one player who can be ours, but we’ve got more than one position we feel we need to strengthen, or cover.

“It’s a difficult conundrum. We’ll see what falls in place.

“I know exactly to the penny how much money we’ve got, it’s either a couple of loans or a signing.”