Leeds manager Neil Warnock backed El Hadji Diouf to fire his side into the Championship promotion race after the Senegal forward's inspired display in the 3-3 draw against Blackburn.

Diouf joined Leeds on a non-contract basis after being released by Doncaster last season, but the former Liverpool and Blackburn star has impressed Warnock enough to earn a deal until January.

The 31-year-old sparked a Leeds revival on Saturday with his side's first goal after Blackburn had surged into a 2-0 lead. Warnock's side moved 3-2 in front before Ruben Rochina's late equaliser preserved Blackburn's unbeaten start.

"I thought Diouf's contribution in the second half was good," Warnock said.

"The game was a good advert for the Championship. I am so proud of my team for battling back from two down."

Rovers boss Steve Kean was relieved to escape with a point after Leeds staged such a strong fightback and he believes his side, relegated from the Premier League last season, will figure in the promotion race if they continue to show that kind of spirit.

"It was a roller-coaster game and looking back we will think it was a decent point, but at two up we were in total control," he said.

"If we had gone in two goals up at half-time I think we would have won but full credit to Leeds. They had a real go. We have gone four league games unbeaten which is a solid start."

Bolton manager Owen Coyle admitted his side's fans were right to be upset after their slow start to life in the Championship continued with a 3-1 defeat at Hull.

Bolton supporters, furious with another lacklustre display, called for Coyle to be sacked after Saturday's match and the Scot, who presided over Wanderers' relegation from the Premier League last season, said: "The fans are quite right to be unhappy.

"We all recognised the importance of hitting the ground running this season. We're a better team than four points from four games.

"We can talk about individual mistakes, but I've never been evasive and ultimately I'm the man responsible.

"If you finish the season in the way we did, that can sometimes feed negativity at the start of the next season."

Sheffield Wednesday manager Dave Jones slammed referee Rob Lewis after suffering his first defeat since taking charge in March.

Jones, who led Wednesday to promotion from League One last season, saw Crystal Palace snatch a 2-1 win at Selhurst Park thanks to Glen Murray's late strike.

But Jones felt the turning point was Lewis's decision to award Palace a penalty 17 minutes from time after a challenge from Mark Beevers and then change his mind, prompting a furious response from the hosts.

"It's unbelievable, the referee turned the whole game. I thought he was poor," Jones said.

"You can say he got it right in the end but he whipped up a frenzy with the fans and after that every challenge we made seemed to go against us."

Elsewhere, Leicester beat leaders Blackpool 1-0, Millwall defeated Middlesbrough 3-1, Derby thrashed Watford 5-1 and Birmingham saw off Peterborough 1-0.

Brighton won 3-1 at Burnley, Barnsley defeated Bristol City 1-0, Nottingham Forest beat Charlton 2-1 and Ipswich drew 2-2 with Huddersfield.