Bristol Rovers manager Joey Barton insisted he was proud of his players despite their humbling 6-3 defeat by Lincoln at the Memorial Ground.

A hat-trick from on-loan Sunderland winger Jack Diamond ultimately proved to be the difference between the sides while striker Ben House, with a brace, and Matty Virtue also got on to the scoresheet.

Rovers striker Aaron Collins took his tally of goals this season to six with two smartly-taken goals while Ryan Loft’s strike raised hopes of a miraculous comeback but there was no stopping the visitors.

Barton said: “It was tough and tricky to take.

“We’ve lost three points but I am proud of the players for the way they applied themselves, the way they kept taking the game to them, getting on the ball, and the way we kept going which was brave.

“And I’ll take responsibility for the shape we played and the fact we were so porous. We tried to play a really aggressive system, taking the game to them but it didn’t go to plan.”

Barton, whose side are now in the League One relegation zone, added: “It was tough to take but you come in at half-time and you don’t know how you are behind.

“There was a bit of a Keystone Cops type of moment just before break when we kicked the ball at one of our own and that put one of their lads through to score.

“You have games like these where your opponents can’t believe their luck and this was one of those games.

“I believe if we had shown more care and composure we could have been going in at the break level or ahead but it wasn’t to be.”

Despite the emphatic nature of the win, Lincoln manager Mark Kennedy refused to lavish his players with praise after they moved to within touching distance of the play-off places.

“I’ve got mixed feelings because there were plenty of positives but too many negatives for my liking,” the former Republic of Ireland international said.

“At times were looked unstoppable going forward but there were aspects of our game that were unacceptable.

“We were sloppy at times and I’ve told the players that they’ve got great careers ahead of them but they’ve got to own the moment and cut out the silly mistakes.

“I don’t want to sound too harsh but I know the team can do a lot better and some of the performances showed what potential we’ve got and it helps that Jack was brilliant because he gave us a vital edge.”