Millers suffer on their travels ... on-the-whistle report: Blackburn Rovers 3 Rotherham United 0

The new boss had picked up a point on his home bow three days earlier but could only watch on in frustration at Ewood Park as the Millers fell to a double blast from prolific hitman Ben Brereton Diaz and a match-sealing third goal from Sammie Szmodics.

Rotherham competed well for more than an hour but lacked the thrust in the final third showed by Rovers who finished up comfortable winners.

The loss dropped the Millers four places in the table to 17th.

An uneventful start suited Rotherham as the away side and they were the first of the two teams to come close to taking the lead.

Chiedozie Ogbene caused problems after latching on to Dan Barlaser's raking pass in the 12th minute and Tom Eaves' blocked shot fell to Ollie Rathbone who had Rovers goalkeeper Thomas Kaminski scrambling to turn away an 18-yard curler for a corner.

Rotherham were enjoying a good spell and four minutes later Ogbene drove forward and played in Eaves who rapped the post with a well-struck effort.

Blackburn had barely threatened but they took a 22nd-minute lead when Tyler Morton fell in the area under the attention of Grant Hall and top scorer Ben Brereton Diaz stepped up to send Viktor Johansson the wrong way from the spot.

Seventh-placed Rovers had come into the clash on the back of a 'win one, lose one' record stretching back eight games so Tuesday's defeat at Cardiff City meant they were due a victory on home soil.

Ben Wiles took aim for Rotherham and wasn't far wide but the penalty had swung momentum in Blackburn's favour and Tayor's men had to survive a spell of pressure that brought sights of goal but no clear-cut chances.

The sun was shining at Ewood Park as the away side were cheered on by a travelling contignent of nearly 1,000 fans.

Rotherham's pace was causing problems for the Rovers defence. Wiles was almost on to Barlaser's through ball, Daniel Ayala wasn't far away from an own goal as he dealt with a low Ogbene cross from the left and Eaves might have equalised had he not taken too long to shoot, giving the home defence the time to get in the way.

After the referee rejected claims for a second Blackburn penalty when Lee Peltier tangled with Brereton Diaz, Ogbene skipped close to half-time and was thwarted by Scott Wharton's last-ditch intervention.

Taylor had made two changes to the side that had earned a point in his first match in the hot-seat: Wednesday's 1-1 home draw with Millwall.

Striker Eaves came in for hs first league start since his summer arrival, with Conor Washington dropping to the bench, and Lee Peltier was part of a three-man rearguard that didn't include Richard Wood.

Skipper Wood, who'd played against Millwall, didn't make the matchday 18 and the armband went to Wiles.

As the hour-mark approached, Szmodics headed wide for Rovers when Ryan Hedges' cross had too much pace on it but it was the Millers who had done most of the probing since the break.

However, Blackburn had more cutting edge and doubled their advantage on 63 minutes when Szmodics' cross from the right found Brereton Diaz unmarked at the back post to steer the ball in.

With a quarter of an hour to go, provider turned scorer as Szmodics ran in and slipped the ball under Johansson to end the contest.

That decent first-half showing from the Millers seemed a long time ago as Rovers continued to dominate to the final whistle.

Blackburn (3-4-1-2): Thomas Kaminski; Dominic Hyam, Daniel Ayala, Scott Wharton; Ryan Hedges, Tyler Morton (Adam Wharton 87), Lewis Travis, Harry Pickering (Clinton Mola 80); Sammie Szmodics (Bradley Dack 87); Sam Gallagher (George Hirst 80), Ben Brereton Diaz (Tyrhys Dolan 73). Subs not used: Aynsley Pears, Callum Brittain.

Rotherham (3-5-2): Viktor Johansson; Wes Harding, Grant Hall, Lee Peltier (Shane Ferguson 76); Brooke Norton-Cuffy (Cameron Humphreys 71), Ben Wiles, Dan Barlaser, Ollie Rathbone (Jamie Lindsay 80), Cohen Bramall; Chiedozie Ogbene, Tom Eaves (Conor Washington 71). Subs not used: Josh Vickers, Jamie McCart, Georgie Kelly.

Goals: Brereton Diaz pen 21, 63, Szmodics 75 (Blackburn).

Referee: Oliver Langford (West Midlands).

Attendance: 12,233 (919).