The danger of reports being overtaken by events at Blackburn Rovers is considerable, so much so that one of the few things that can be stated with certainty regarding the Lancashire club's managerial vacancy is that when the final whistle blew, no appointment had been announced.

In the runup to kick-off, rumours had been circulating that Peter Taylor, the former England Under-21 manager, had been approached about the position, the odds on him taking over from Henning Berg, sacked last Thursday, suddenly shortening dramatically.

After overseeing two wins in two games, however, it would not be surprising to see the caretaker manager, Gary Bowyer, have his time in charge extended.

"I haven't spoken to the owners, we'll carry on until we're told otherwise," said the 41-year-old reserve team coach and former Rotherham United full-back after a dominant second-half performance against a Nottingham Forest side being overseen for the first time by Alex McLeish.

"It's been a difficult couple of days, and the players needed the first half to get themselves going after playing on Saturday, but in the second half they were magnificent, they really showed they care," Bowyer said. "I'm just giving the club a little more time and we'll see where that leaves us when decisions are taken."

After a mistake-riddled first half, the game came to life three minutes after the break. Ruben Rochina's run looked like it had been brought to an end by Daniel Ayala's firm tackle, only for the ball to hit Rochina's knee and rebound so firmly that it beat Lee Camp's dive and rolled into the far corner of the net.

Forest should have equalised when the best move of the game saw Andy Reid and Guy Moussi combine to free Dan Harding on the left. The full-back's cross picked out the unmarked Billy Sharp, but the 21-year-old Jake Kean made an outstanding save from the striker's header.

It was a turning point. The more Forest pushed forward the more vulnerable they looked on the break, but the technique shown by the Rovers' striker Jordan Rhodes, first in controlling Morten Gamst Pedersen's low cross, and then taking it out of Camp's reach before turning the ball into the goal was outstanding.

So too was the manner in which Colin Kazim-Richards, running on to Adam Henley's cutback, drilled his shot past Camp from the edge of the penalty area.

McLeish, who made four changes to the side he watched draw at home to Crystal Palace on Saturday and played two holding midfielders in a 4-2-3-1 formation, admitted his frustration. "You couldn't see that coming at half-time. They got a fluke first goal but we reacted very well, putting them under pressure, and the Blackburn goalkeeper played a big part in getting them the three points. We threw the dice after that, but while it worked [in rescuing a draw] against Crystal Palace, it didn't here.

"We know we have a lot to do. I brought in some fresh legs and it gave me a chance to have a look at players very closely. We'll present the case to the owners to bring in new players [during the transfer window]. We've had a lot of names thrown at us, which suggests they're available."