Blackburn were forced to settle for a 1-1 draw at Wolves on Friday as the Indian-owned Championship club prepared for life under new manager Michael Appleton.
Appleton was confirmed as Blackburn’s third boss of a troubled season just hours before kick-off, but the 37-year-old didn’t make the trip to Molineux to see his new second-tier team in action.
Scotland striker Jordan Rhodes gave Rovers the lead with a first half penalty, but their hopes of a fourth successive victory under caretaker boss Gary Bowyer were dashed as Wolves, playing for the first time under their new manager Dean Saunders, hit back to equalise after the interval through Roger Johnson.
Appleton has signed a two-and-a-half-year contract to replace Henning Berg at Ewood Park after the former Manchester United defender was sacked just 57 days into his reign.
Berg had replaced Steve Kean, who quit the club claiming his position was untenable due to interference from Venky’s, the Indian poultry firm who own Blackburn.
Appleton, a former Manchester United trainee, could be the ideal man for Blackburn as he is no stranger to managerial chaos himself, having quit Blackpool to join Rovers just two months after arriving at Bloomfield Road from crisis club Portsmouth.
His team competed gamely enough against Wolves, who were fired up to impress former Liverpool striker Saunders following his arrival from Doncaster earlier in the week to replace the sacked Stale Solbakken.