Peter Taylor didn’t beat around the bush when he blamed his goalkeeper for both goals that cost City at Torquay recently.

It was a tough learning curve for Jon McLaughlin as he heard the manager’s very public reaction to his performance.

But in a way, it also demonstrated how strongly Taylor believes in the 22-year-old.

His criticism was a back-handed compliment for a keeper he clearly thinks is very much up to the task.

In experience terms, McLaughlin is a baby as a number one. Despite being the season’s only ever- present, he has still got only 14 senior appearances under his belt.

Taylor knew the risks when he went into the campaign with such a relative rookie as his first choice. Back-up keeper Lloyd Saxton has never played in the first team and Chris Elliott has just been awarded his first pro contract after being named youth-team player of the year.

Even coach Tim Dittmer is much younger than Matt Glennon, who occupied City’s goal when Taylor first took the Valley Parade reins in February.

But rather than look for another old head in the summer, Taylor put his faith in youth. And despite what he said in the aftermath of Devon last week, that faith remains unshaken.

McLaughlin, for his part, held up a giant hand over what the boss had to say.

“You’ve got to be big enough to know what’s expected of you,” he said. “Once you’re made a part of the team properly, that’s a sign they believe you’re a good quality player and they expect you to be of a high standard in games.

“The better you get, the more things are going to get picked out. You’re always trying to learn and you’re not out there to make mistakes.

“But as a keeper, I’m always disappointed to concede a goal, even with the Preston winner in the cup, which was an absolute blast into the top corner.

“I don’t think I ever had any right to save the shot but, at the same time, you’re not happy to watch it go in.

“You don’t look at it and think ‘never mind’. You’re still wondering if there was anything that you could have done better.

“So when a goal goes in because of a mistake you’ve got to accept it. Then you go into training next week and try to work on the things that have gone wrong in the game.”

Every goalkeeper will tell you that mental strength is just as important as ability and physical fitness. It’s about getting over the inevitable lapses that will affect even the very best and not letting them play on your mind.

Taylor has no doubt that McLaughlin is tough enough up top to recover from any pitfalls.

The keeper himself, having waited so long to finally get his opportunity, has no intention of letting it slip from his grasp.

“I’ve had to be pretty patient to get my chance and I’m really grateful with the gaffer for making me his number one.

“I’ve been enjoying it so far playing games on a regular basis and it’s great to take on that added responsibility.

“All three of us are young goalkeepers and the gaffer’s talked to us before about being able to move on after a goal and not let it affect the rest of your performance.

“Whether it’s a mistake by ourselves, a bad decision by an official or just a good goal, you’ve got to forget about it as quickly as possible.

“Concentrate on the next shot or cross. You can go back to the goal after the game and pick through it all day long.

“It can be tough to do and you need to make sure the players around you help but we’ve got good players in our defence with experience.

“They’re not all over you about it. They know you haven’t tried to do it wrong on purpose.”

The fact that McLaughlin saved another penalty at Plainmoor was almost forgotten. But his stop from Torquay skipper Nicky Wroe extended a record that has also included saves at Burton in his first game under Peter Taylor and then in pre-season against Rochdale.

Clearly those shoot-outs with the Great Britain side in last year’s World Student Games in Belgrade have proved a valuable grounding.

He said: “It’s always great to save penalties and help the team out but hopefully it won’t mean people expecting me to save them.

“You’re always the underdog as a goalkeeper but if (my record) plants a seed of doubt in the penalty-taker’s head then maybe it helps.

“I don’t really have too much of a system. I just gauge the player, think about what he might do and just commit to it.

“If you then save it, that’s great.”