🔗 Share this article

The Newcastle manager found himself on safe ground as he sounded the bell.

The Newcastle United manager had just got the 2023 Great North Run under way to rapturous applause in the centre of the city.

But he had failed to anticipate those Black Cats runners who were not so thrilled to see him as they sped past.

"The biggest stick I've ever had," he said this week. "I got verbally attacked by 50% of the people there."

This is not an inter-city rivalry. These North East neighbours have won only one major domestic trophy between them in the past 50 years, and Sunday's game marks the first time they will meet in the top division for almost ten years.

But hardly any fixtures halt an area quite like the North East derby as former Sunderland manager Peter Reid understands better than most.

"These are football crackers," he said. "Put it this way, there is a touch of extra needle up there."

'The two biggest games of the season'

A former Newcastle defender also knows what can happen when these forces collide.

A huge framed photograph in the ex- Newcastle centre-back's home acts as a daily reminder.

It captures the Greek wild-eyed, shirtless and surrounded by his jubilant team-mates, after netting the winner in front of the traveling support at the Stadium of Light in 2002.

This was a fixture that definitely left its mark on him.

"It's the passion of the fans," he said. "This feeling that goes from generation to generation. This tradition makes this game so unique."

So what is at the root of the fierce rivalry between two one-club cities less than 15 miles apart?

Well, as far as a Black Cats loyal fan is concerned, it goes beyond football itself.

"You can trace it to the English Civil War with Newcastle supporting the monarchy and Sunderland backing the parliament," he said. "It's all historical and economic tensions.

"Newcastle get the investment, Newcastle have the metropolitan status, Newcastle are the ones people always talk about when it comes to the North East. Sunderland are always overshadowed."

But it is not at all one-sided.

A former player's father was even "swarmed" by joyous Newcastle supporters after his son scored a match-winning free-kick in a 1-0 victory at the Stadium of Light in 2011.

That is how much it meant to the Geordies.

"It took a little bit of time afterwards to grasp the significance of it," the player said.

"It made my life a lot simpler. I was forgiven to make the occasional mistake when playing, purely because of that goal.

"I still go up to St James' Park and you've got dads telling their kids, 'See this lad? He scored the winner against the Mackems'."

A derby win can even further elevate the standing of an already popular figure.

A former Newcastle manager had not long delivered promotion back to the Premier League when he took charge of his first derby in 2010.

There may have only officially been three points at stake, but he quickly understood the "added responsibility" of this game because people in the North East "breathe their football".

He said: "There are some derbies where you are not quite sure why they are derbies. This one, you are.

"These are two huge clubs - close from each other - with their own identities.

"Realistically, they are the two biggest games of the season so you are conscious that the last thing you want to do is to lose, especially in your own stadium."

'The world will know the North East is back on the map'

That manager had nothing to fear.

His side ended up thrashing Sunderland 5-1 at St James' Park in 2010, but Newcastle have only won a solitary derby in the Premier League since then.

In fact, The Wearside club have been victorious in six of the last seven contests in the top flight.

A former Sunderland manager masterminded half of those victories, having quickly realised that the fixture was "more significant" than many outsiders thought.

"Beyond family, the club is the most vital thing to the people of Sunderland," he said.

"It's so intense that the result of the club can alter the atmosphere of the city so consider the result of the derby? You can sense it.

"They told me on the first day. 'Please stay up, but you must beat Newcastle'. I still don't know if it was more important to stay up or to beat Newcastle."

The club, like Newcastle before them, eventually succumbed to the relegation trapdoor in 2017, and spent eight years away from the top flight.

So a division separated these rivals when they last met in the domestic cup nearly two years ago.

And the contrast was stark.

The combined cost of Sunderland's starting line-up that day was a tiny portion of the £40m Newcastle had spent on a single player.

The most experienced individual in the hosts' starting line-up was a considerable distance ahead of others, at just 30 years of age.

"It's unlikely the fans really believed, deep down, that we were going to win that game," a former midfielder said. "But now it's changed."

In numerous ways.

Only two players are likely to be the only survivors from that 3-0 defeat in Sunday's lineup following the inspired arrivals of several new signings.

Sunderland also have a different manager, of course.

Not only has he led Sunderland to promotion - his fearless side have gone toe-to-toe with some the best teams in the top flight.

In fact, the reigning champions are the only team in the current top six to have beaten Sunderland this season, while his side are also undefeated on home soil.

Such an impressive start to the campaign means Sunderland go into Sunday's game a point ahead of Newcastle in the table.

So it is all set up to be a gripping afternoon when these rivals renew hostilities at the Stadium of Light.

"Come Sunday, the world will know the North East is relevant again with elite fixtures again," a former player added.