Kit Symons hopes Fulham's Capital One Cup win against Doncaster can boost his chances of landing the job on a permanent basis.
Goals from forgotten man Bryan Ruiz and Dan Burn put them in the driving seat before James Coppinger gave the visitors hope after the break.
Marcus Bettinelli's late penalty save from Theo Robinson earned the Cottagers a 2-1 win to seal their spot in round four.
Symons, who faces competition from the likes of Chris Hughton and Gianfranco Zola for the post, held talks with Shahid Khan earlier this week as he tries to convince the Fulham owner he's the right man for the job.
He said: “I had a really good chat with the owner and [non-executive director] Mark Lamping which went very, very well.
"Mark actually came over today and he was at the game tonight. It went really well, it was very positive, very upbeat and very beneficial to all parties.
“There will be a proper, thorough search for the right manager. I’ve got no problem with that, I think that’s the right thing to do.
"I want the right person to take this football club forward – my challenge now is to make sure that person is me.
“There are no timeframes at the moment but I know from talking to Mark earlier that there’s no rush. They’ll make sure it’s the right appointment.”
