Peter Taylor has full faith in Jon McLaughlin to recover from his Torquay troubles.

McLaughlin takes his place between the posts against Preston in the Carling Cup tonight with his manager’s backing.

Taylor blamed the keeper for both goals at the weekend but insists McLaughlin is still his number one.

He said: “He knows I was disappointed and totally holds his hands up to that. But I’ve got no doubt he can handle it.

“Jon is a confident and an intelligent lad. He knows what he’s done wrong and I’m sure he’ll put it right.

“If I didn’t think he was mentally strong, I would have signed a more experienced goalkeeper in the summer.

“I knew at the start of the season with three young keepers on board that the only thing they’d be doing wrong is decision-making. It won’t be their ability.

“You make better decisions as you play a lot of football and get more experience. But there’s no doubt in my mind that Jon’s big enough to handle everything.”

Robbie Threlfall sits it out after his red card but the ban is only one game for handball so he will be free for the Southend game on Friday.

Taylor has cleared it with Norwich for loan midfielder Tom Adeyemi to play and Jake Speight also comes back into the reckoning.

Taylor added: “He trained yesterday and looked good. He’s got a chance if there’s no reaction.

“But the reason his knee swelled up a little bit in the first place was because of the amount of work he put in after not playing a lot of football.

“He put in a lot of work in two hours against (Nottingham) Forest and I’m very mindful of that.”

Taylor had plenty of dealings with Darren Ferguson at Peterborough and expects his Preston side to pose a tough test.

He said: “Darren’s got the opportunity at a bigger club and it’s been a hard start for them. But maybe they are going the younger route and it can be difficult.

“No doubt about it, he will do very well and they will be feeling better after Saturday because they won.

“It’s going to be an interesting game and a winnable one for us. But we also know if Preston turn up and do everything they can, it will be very tough.”

Taylor expects a decent home performance after the Devon disappointment at the weekend.

“I thought Shane Duff, Luke O’Brien and Lewis Hunt did ever so well but others can do better.”