LUKE O’NIEN has assured Sunderland supporters that he and his team-mates know exactly what tomorrow’s Wear-Tyne derby means – and insists every player in red-and-white will be playing for the whole of Wearside when they line up against bitter rivals Newcastle.

Tomorrow’s early-afternoon meeting at the Stadium of Light is the first derby encounter for almost eight years, with emotions already having reached fever pitch in the build-up to the FA Cup third-round tie.

Walking out onto the pitch ahead of kick-off will be one of O’Nien’s proudest moments in his six seasons as a Sunderland player, and the 29-year-old wants to reassure fans that the importance of the occasion has certainly not been lost on the Black Cats squad.

“I’ve been waiting for this game since I joined here,” said O’Nien. “I think the North-East has been due one for a very long time. It’s finally here, and we’re really looking forward to it.

“Days like these don’t come around too often, so you’ve got to remember them. It’s important that you look around and you take it in. I know there’s thousands of people that are right behind us, and that would like to be wearing the shirt. It’s important that we play for them, and that we use the atmosphere to our advantage and also create some great memories for everybody.”

Tomorrow’s game has been the talk of both Wearside and Tyneside ever since the third-round draw was made last month.

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O’Nien was with some of his team-mates when the balls came out of the hat, and the immediate reaction was one of intense excitement.

“We were talking about it today,” said the Sunderland skipper, in an interview with the club’s official website. “A few of us were actually together at the time, and when the draw came, we were just dead excited for it.

“We know how much it means to the area, we know it’s one of the best derbies in the world, so to be able to experience it this weekend, it’s going to be special for many, many reasons.

“To be able to represent the club in one of the biggest games, it’s going to be great. It’s a new thing for all of us. It’s going to be an atmosphere we’ve never had before, and it’s going to be important we put in a performance that makes everyone proud.”

While the sense of occasion could hardly be any greater, there is a game to be played once the whistle blows, and while O’Nien tends to play with his heart on his sleeve no matter what the opposition is, he accepts it will be important to have ice in the veins tomorrow even though the blood will be pumping.

“As the gaffer has said, it’s a chance for us to go out and fulfil our potential against a Premier League team, a team that has played in the Champions League,” he said. “It’s going to be a really good test for us, and it’s up to us to carry on building the foundations that we’ve been putting in place.

“Nothing has to change, we just have to keep doing what we’ve been doing week in, week out. It’s about doing our research, putting in a game-plan and executing that, and that’s exactly what we’re going to be doing this weekend.”