CHRIS Hughton has backed goalkeeper Tim Krul to put Wednesday’s error-strewn display behind him when he appears in Sunday’s Tyne-Wear derby against Sunderland.

Krul was partially responsible for Arsenal’s opening goal at St James’, allowing Nicklas Bendtner’s header to pass through his legs and failing to prevent Ryan Taylor’s clearance from striking him on the back of the head before rebounding into the goal.

He went on to concede three more goals after the interval, with Theo Walcott twice beating him in one-on-one situations.

With Steve Harper still recovering from the broken collarbone he sustained against Everton, Krul is guaranteed to remain in the starting lineup for the opening North-East derby of the season.

And while Sunderland are preparing to unleash England international Darren Bent, Hughton is confident the 22- year-old will rise to the challenge of Newcastle’s biggest game of the campaign.

“Knowing Tim as I do, the reason why he’s been able to come into a Premier League side and perform the way he has is because he’s a big character,”

said the Magpies manager.

“He won’t be fazed by that (the mistake) in the slightest.

“I’ve just got a feeling Tim is someone who can put mistakes behind him. He plays in a position where goalkeepers are going to make mistakes.

“But Tim would not have got himself into the position he’s in at the moment – being the first-team keeper at Newcastle – without having the qualities he’s got.

“As a goalkeeper, you’ve got to be resilient, you’ve got to put mistakes behind you and look forward. I am very confident he will do that.”

Wednesday night’s defeat made it four home games without a victory since Newcastle thrashed Aston Villa in August.

Defeat in the Carling Cup is unlikely to cause too much unrest, given the overriding importance of remaining in the Premier League this season, but a failure to beat Blackpool, Stoke and Wigan in the league has understandably caused concern.

Successes at Everton and West Ham have tempered the impact of the club’s shaky home form, and ensured Newcastle will kick off this weekend’s game in the top half of the table.

But having gone through last season with an unbeaten home record, Hughton accepts his side have to regain their previous strength at St James’.

With Sunday’s game pitting them against their greatest rivals, the Newcastle boss insists there is no better place to start.

“We know we’ve done very well away from home,” he said. “Now, we need to address our home form. That’s something I’m aware of and we need to make sure we’re picking up some results. We’ve got an ideal game coming up to start doing that.”

Having made nine changes on Wednesday, Hughton is expected to revert to the side that won at Upton Park when he selects his starting line-up for Sunday.

The likes of Ryan Taylor, Alan Smith, Haris Vuckic and Peter Lovenkrands will find themselves dropping out, and with no more Carling Cup games to play, their involvement in the remainder of the campaign is likely to be minimal.

Vuckic, in particular, impressed on Wednesday, but having failed to appear in a single league game this season, the 18-year-old midfielder is eyeing a loan move to the Championship in an attempt to gain some much-needed experience.

Tellingly, Leeds boss Simon Grayson was an interested observer at St James’ this week.

“I want to play for Newcastle and train there,” said Vuckic.

“But if I get chance to go out on loan, why not? I’m still young and I need to get some games, if not in the Premier League, maybe I can go down to the Championship to do that.

“The standard there is very good, and there will always be the option of Chris calling me back if he wants me to play in the Premier League.”