Managerless Boro fail to find their way out of Forest

Lewis McGugan's second-half free-kick, a wicked effort from the left, settled the matter and extended Forest's unbeaten home run to an impressive 25 games.

Strachan, who left on Monday after a disappointing start to the season, would have longed for the kind of display that Boro produced in the first half as they did more than enough to be in control, with Leroy Lita guilty of missing the target with two gilt-edged chances.

Forest had their moments in the first period, with Radoslaw Majewski rattling the woodwork, but it was their second-half showing that brought them the points.

Middlesbrough were a shadow of their earlier selves after the break and rarely threatened, meaning it is four defeats out of the last five, while the hosts were able to record their first win in four.

Boro chairman Steve Gibson has vowed to take his time to get the right man to replace Strachan.

Gibson said: "That will take as much time as is necessary. We have got to get it right.

"We are not going to rush into a management appointment, we are going to look at it carefully.

"We are going to have a lot of debate and a lot of discussion with potential managers and we will make a decision when it is appropriate to do so."

Old boy Tony Mowbray, who is still being paid by Celtic under his severance package, is favourite with both the fans and the bookmakers, with Ladbrokes having installed him as a 1-3 shot to replace Strachan with Paul Ince, Alan Pardew and Phil Brown hot on his heels.

Gibson has no problem with supporters speculating over the new manager.

He said: "We want the interest, we want the gossip, we need them to talk about the club."