THIRTY-FOUR minutes does not sound too long to make an impression, but it is sufficient for a Sunderland footballer to etch himself in the minds of angry supporters. Particularly if he is attempting to outwit old adversaries Newcastle United.

Michael Bridges, born and bred in the North Tyneside coastal town of Whitley Bay, may not have scored eight years back but when he was introduced as a second half substitute at St James' Park a couple of fanatical supporters took offence.

A teenager at the time, Bridges was still living with his parents, Pat and Joe, and he headed home after his derby debut. The next morning he woke up to see his Seat Cordoba - given to him as part of a sponsorship deal with Sunderland - daubed in graffiti.

"I wouldn't care but the game only finished 1-1, and it was Micky Gray who scored, not me, if I remember right," said Bridges, who understandably claims to be taking a neutral stance this weekend, call it sitting diplomatically on the fence if you like.

Unsurprisingly the incident in April 1997 led to Bridges moving out shortly after. "I thought it was unfair on my mam and dad if I stayed put. I moved nearer to the centre of Sunderland, I thought it'd be safer there," he recalls.

That was not his first experience of the true extent of the revulsion exchanged between Newcastle and Sunderland supporters.

Seven years earlier, as a normal, cheeky, football-loving 12-year-old, Bridges had his first taste of the hostility when he went along with his father to the infamous old Division Two play-off encounter between the fierce rivals 15 years ago.

Joe was a fanatical Magpie, never missed a game and on this occasion stood alongside his son on the terraces at the Gallowgate when Marco Gabbiadini burst through and put Sunderland 2-0 up.

A bad tempered first leg at Roker Park had finished goalless and frustrations boiled over at St James' three days later when Gabbiadini added to Eric Gates' opener.

Success for the men from Wearside meant Newcastle had to suffer the embarrassment of being condemned to another year outside the English top-flight, and the Geordie faithful knew it.

As Gabbiadini's goal made the net ripple, hundreds of Newcastle fans' charged the pitch in a desperate attempt to have the match abandoned with just minutes remaining.

With so little time left, referee George Courtney had no thoughts of doing that. After the atmosphere had calmed down to a degree, the official restarted the game and Sunderland fans celebrated.

"I will never forget that," said Bridges. "I might have only been young but it was a frightening experience. I remember it all going off around me and my dad tucking me under his arm and saying just stay calm and tight."

Such has been Bridges' professional situation - his career started at Sunderland, after being scouted by Alan Shearer's spotter Jack Hixon, and he spent time on loan at Newcastle, where he was also part of the club's school of excellence in his younger days - his club allegiance has never been black and white, so to speak.

Even before becoming a teenage star at Sunderland ten years ago, despite reports over the years to the contrary, Bridges insists he was a fan mainly of Tottenham, while having a soft spot for Sunderland and an even softer spot for Newcastle.

In fact, with the exception of derby days, the former pupil at Whitley Bay's Monkseaton High School - which incidentally is the same school Newcastle defender Steven Taylor attended - actually boasts about being a regular at both St James' Park and Roker Park as a schoolboy.

"It was quite strange when I was a kid," said Bridges. "The majority of my mates were all Newcastle fans so I would quite regularly go to St James' and stand in the Leazes End.

"But another of my mates, Gary Harding, was an absolutely massive Sunderland supporter, so I would also go to Roker and stand in the Fulwell End among the die-hards.

"Then there was my dad who used to take me along to loads of Newcastle games because he was a season ticket holder. But I was also a Tottenham fan for a while because I tended to support the team Chris Waddle played for."

Naturally, Bridges' employment at Sunderland did change his view, while his father's paternal instincts also led to him watching the red and whites on a more frequent basis.

Not even the bitterness he feels for the way he was discarded by manager Mick McCarthy in the summer, with a year left on his contract at the Stadium of Light, has clouded his judgement.

Nor has the way he was deemed unwanted by Sir Bobby Robson in the summer before last, after seeing out the final few months of the 2003-04 campaign.

"I was really upset when Mick told me I could go. I was gutted," said Bridges, currently playing for Bristol City in the centre-midfield role he made a name for himself in during his school days. "It was at a stage where I had started pre-season and I had really started to think I was ready to prove myself in the Premiership again.

"Even when the manager told me he was going to try to bring in Jon Stead and Andy Gray, I thought I would be competing. I really thought that me and Stephen Elliott could have been good together as a front two.

"It obviously didn't work out at Newcastle either.

"But I wouldn't say I have any ties with either club now. Personally, despite what's happened, I would probably say I would like to see Sunderland win on Sunday, at a push."

That outcome would pile even more pressure on the shoulders of Newcastle manager Graeme Souness, with the chances of the Scot being sacked more than a distinct possibility.

It is an eventuality that highlights the importance of a Newcastle versus Sunderland fixture in the eyes of both sets of fans - as arrogant Dutchman Ruud Gullit found to his cost on a rain-sodden night at St James' in August 1999.

Gullit, the former Newcastle boss who was a legendary player, actually had the ignorance to claim the North-East's most volatile fixture was not even a derby.

"That was absolute bollocks," said Bridges, now 27, looking to rebuild a career that has slowed since suffering a series of serious injuries during his days with Leeds.

"I happen to think that there are only two derbies in Britain that have such hatred. I have experienced a Rangers-Celtic derby from the stands, while no other game comes near to Newcastle-Sunderland.

"There's just so much hatred that it's impossible to imagine. I have played in Leeds-Manchester United matches and they don't like each other.

"I played in the Bristol derby a few weeks ago which is a bigger derby than people would think. But the Tyne-Wear derby is on its own."

Bridges may be hundreds of miles away in Bristol tomorrow but will be putting his feet up and watching the frenetic action unfold from the comfort of his own living room.

And there's more than a slender chance he will be the only man in the country jumping out of his seat when the goals fly in - no matter who scores.