Stoke City goalkeeper Asmir Begovic has backed his teammate Jonathan Walters to recover from his performance against Chelsea at the weekend.

The Irish striker scored two own goals and later missed a penalty as the visiting Blues left the Britannia Stadium with a 4-0 victory.

However, Begovic feels that the 29-year-old has enough mental strength to not dwell on his mistakes.

"I don't think anybody will worry about Jon," Begovic told reporters. "His character and personality won't be affected by anything that happens to him.

"It was a couple of unfortunate incidents for him. I take the blame for the second goal because I probably should have come for the ball, but seeing him there I decided not to.

"He's a big enough character to bounce back and I am sure he will probably score a goal in the cup."

Stoke's next fixture is an FA Cup replay against Crystal Palace tomorrow night.

Written by
Liam Apicella