Junior Stanislas earned West Ham a priceless point with a 78th-minute equaliser at Ewood Park that denied caretaker Blackburn manager Steve Kean a win in his first game in charge.

With West Ham boss Avram Grant enduring another week of speculation about his future, it was an important match for both men, and, after a woeful first half, it was Blackburn who made the breakthrough in the 51st minute thanks to the scrappiest of goals from Ryan Nelsen.

Defeat would certainly have been harsh on the visitors, who were easily the more creative side, and they got their rewards when Stanislas fired an unstoppable shot into the far corner shortly after Matthew Upson had hit a post.

West Ham boss Avram Grant rang the changes for his side's Barclays Premier League trip to snowy Blackburn today, including giving a debut to Belgian goalkeeper Ruud Boffin.

The 23-year-old came in for injury victim Robert Green, while Danny Gabbidon, Kieron Dyer, Luis Boa Morte and Valon Behrami were also handed starts as Grant made five changes from the team beaten 3-1 by Manchester City last time out.

Blackburn caretaker boss Steve Kean kept faith with most of the side that lost 2-1 to Bolton in Sam Allardyce's last game in charge. His only alterations saw David Dunn and Mame Biram Diouf replacing Martin Olsson and Phil Jones, who dropped to the bench.

There was a further change to the West Ham team a few minutes before kick-off, with Behrami, who had been a doubt for the match because of a hip problem, replaced by Jonathan Spector.

It was confirmed, meanwhile, that Green's absence was due to the England man undergoing a minor operation earlier this week to have a cyst removed. It was the first time Green had failed to start a West Ham league game since February 3, 2007.

Staff at Ewood Park had spent all morning clearing the pitch, stands and surrounding areas of snow and their efforts were rewarded as the match was the only one of the scheduled 3pm kick-offs in the Barclays Premier League to go ahead.

Rovers were looking to make it four home league victories in a row against the league's bottom club, who had not won away all season, and they were awarded an early free-kick on the edge of the area after a run from Biram Diouf was ended by Danny Gabbidon.

Morten Gamst Pedersen struck the ball well but it thudded into Matthew Upson, leaving Boffin, who joined the Hammers from Maastricht in September, untested.

With less than 10 minutes gone, Blackburn were forced into a change as Jason Roberts pulled up with looked like a hamstring injury and was replaced - eventually - by Benjani Mwaruwari.

Reports of an ultimatum that he must win one of the next three games to keep his job were denied by Grant yesterday but, with the Hammers three points off safety, there was no doubting the importance of this match.

After Blackburn's bright start, the visitors did begin to cause some problems of their own, with Frederic Piquionne looking lively. Upson, meanwhile, was marshalling the West Ham defence well and headed away another dangerous cross from Pedersen.

There were plenty of empty seats in the stands and the fans that had made it were hardly being kept warm by the action - or lack of it - on the pitch.

Boffin was still to make his first save but he did give the Hammers fans a scare by choosing to dribble out of his area, just evading a tackle from Biram Diouf.

The new man was then called into action 33 minutes in after Gabiddon fouled Michel Salgado 25 yards out, the Spaniard tumbling rather theatrically. This time Pedersen's placement was good but his effort lacked pace and Boffin easily held on.

The first decent opening of the half came with four minutes left as Boa Morte played in Piquionne on the left of the area but the striker fired his effort towards the near post and into the side-netting.

Moments later, it was Boa Morte on the end of a through ball and this time he did find the target, forcing Paul Robinson into a good block.

West Ham would have been hoping to pick up where they left off at the start of the second half but instead they found themselves under pressure immediately as a crude foul by Tal Ben-Haim on Biram Diouf earned the Israeli a yellow card and Blackburn a free-kick wide on the left.

Pedersen picked out captain Chris Samba but his header back across the box was just too high for any of his team-mates to convert. Rovers had a new energy about them though, and in the 51st minute they took the lead through the scrappiest of goals.

A shot from the lively Biram Diouf was deflected behind by James Tomkins and, from the resulting corner, the ball was cleared to Brett Emerton wide on the right.

The Australian did brilliantly to work space for a cross, which caused havoc in the West Ham penalty area. Poor defending saw the ball drop to Benjani three yards out only for the striker to completely miss his kick.

Waiting was Ryan Nelsen, though, and, after his first effort was superbly saved by Boffin, the Rovers captain forced the ball inside the post off his thigh.

It was tough luck on the rookie goalkeeper, who did all he could but was let down by the men in front of him. Grant responded by bringing on Carlton Cole and Junior Stanislas for Pablo Barrera and Spector, while injury saw Samba replaced by Jones.

Cole was immediately involved, appealing unsuccessfully for a penalty after a challenge by Gael Givet and then poking his shot wide under pressure from Jones following good work by Dyer.

That proved to be the last involvement for Jones, though, as he limped off barely 10 minutes after coming on, with teenager Grant Hanley given his chance by Kean.

Blackburn and referee Mike Dean earned the wrath of the West Ham fans when they failed to put the ball out after Upson went down clutching his face, and in the 71st minute the Hammers defender almost took revenge in the best possible way.

This time it was the Rovers defence that did not deal with a cross but Upson curled his shot against the outside of a post. The Hammers created another decent opening moments later, Piquionne heading Stanislas' corner over the bar.

They certainly deserved an equaliser, and 12 minutes from time they got one. Scott Parker, so often at the heart of West Ham's best moments, drove into the box and Givet could only divert the ball into the path of Stanislas, who smacked his shot into the far corner Blackburn had been poor but they upped their level again and thought they had gone straight back in front only for Dunn to be denied by an offside flag.

Both sides pushed for a winner and Pedersen almost caught out Boffin with an audacious 40-yard free-kick, while the Norwegian had the final chance with another set-piece from the edge of the area that just missed the far post.