Alan Irvine has backed winger Simon Whaley to bounce back from his FA Cup nightmare and play a key role in Preston's relegation fight.Whaley, whose performances this season have attracted admiring glances from several Championship clubs, missed a penalty in Sunday's fifth-round home defeat against Portsmouth.

England goalkeeper David James saved Whaley's spot-kick and the 22-year-old later apologised to his team-mates.

But Irvine said: "We're certainly not going to start pointing the finger at Simon.

"We have now got some very important games coming up, and Simon will be a very important player for us in that period."

More Football News from TEAMtalk