Nottingham Forest owner Fawaz Al Hasawi has confirmed that Malky Mackay, Steve Clarke and Gianfranco Zola are on the shortlist to become the club's new manager and claims an appointment could be made at any time.
Decision
Earlier, Al Hasawi claimed he was aiming to have a new manager in place by the end of next week.
It remains unclear whether Al Hasawi, assisted in his search by former European Cup-winning captain and recently-appointed club ambassador John McGovern, is looking for a permanent manager or someone to take charge for the remainder of the season but the Kuwaiti is hopeful of filing the role in some capacity within the next 10 days.
"Hopefully by the end of next week we will have a new manager in place. I am working closely with John McGovern on a daily basis," Al Hasawi said via his Twitter account.
"We don't want to rush into a decision. We have to get the right man and we are prepared to wait to achieve that.
"In the meantime we must all stay behind Gary Brazil. There are important games ahead and the play-offs are still within reach."
Former Forest captain Pearce turned down the chance to return to the club as manager on Thursday.
Pearce, who played for the club for 12 years, said earlier this week that he still had managerial aspirations and described the job as an "outstanding opportunity" for the right person.
However, the 51-year-old feels he is not that man after holding talks with Al Hasawi about succeeding Davies.
He told talkSPORT: "I've had a chat with them but at this moment in time, for personal reasons, I've decided not to take it any further."
Asked if he was tempted by the offer, Pearce added: "There was an emotional pull because I had 12 great years at that club."
Pearce would have been a popular choice among Forest fans.
The tough-tackling left-back spent the majority of his career at the City Ground where he twice won the League Cup under Brian Clough.
During his final season with the club in 1996/97 he also had a brief spell as caretaker manager.
It has been reported that interference in the signing of players and in team selection from Al Hasawi was a factor in both Pearce and Warnock turning down the job.
However, the Kuwaiti insists this is not the case.
"I would like to categorically state I have no desire to interfere in team affairs. The manager's job is to manage," he added.
Brazil, Forest's academy manager, is poised to take charge for the second successive game when Forest attempt to get their Sky Bet Championship promotion challenge back on track at Ipswich on Saturday.
Brazil's first game saw the Reds lose 1-0 at home to Charlton on Tuesday night - a result which left the club seventh in the table and two points shy of a play-off spot.
