French duo playing the crying game

The two good friends head into the most important North-East derby in 19 years on Monday, and both are well aware of the enormity of the situation for both clubs.

With Newcastle United and Middlesbrough level on points and chasing Hull City and Sunderland in the hope of climbing out of the bottom three, it is safe to assume the message from inside the respective dressing rooms will be that a point will not suffice.

And Digard does not care about whether he will face Bassong at Newcastle next season, so long as Boro are in the Premier League when he starts his second season in English football in August.

That stance is an indication of the importance of the occasion at St James’ Park, when the two French Under- 21 internationals cross paths on the pitch, bringing back memories of a meeting between the two in 2003.

“We became friends when we played together for the Under-21s, before that I came up against him at youth level,” said Digard, who left Le Havre for Paris St Germain in 2008.

“I remember an under-16 youth cup quarter-final. He was playing for Metz and I was at Le Havre. It was a big game for us.

“At the time we were not friends because we were playing for a place in the semi-finals of the competition. We won and his team were crying afterwards. I remember that very well.

“After Monday night, I hope it is him who is crying.”

Unsurprisingly, Bassong’s memories do not extend that far back too easily, although the Newcastle defender does not care so long as the Magpies win on Monday.

“Didier is my good friend.

“Sometimes he comes up to mine, I go down to his, or we pick up the phone to each other,” said Bassong.

“I will ring him before, we ring all the time, I will ridicule him, he will ridicule me.

“I didn’t expect either of us to be struggling against relegation, but we are both in the situation and we have to sort it out.

“One of Newcastle or Middlesbrough will stay up, the other will go down.”

With Digard settled in Yarm and Bassong based in Newcastle, there is a drive required for the two t o meet up, but they do make the effort and they insist there is a friendship for life.

That, though, will disappear for 90 minutes on Monday and Digard will have no problem concentrating on the task at hand.

“When we speak about football, it is only after the game, never before,” said the £4m midfielder.

“When we talk about our clubs and our situations, it is not great because of the positions we are in at the moment.

“We do have a laugh with each other but perhaps not right now because of the situations we are in.

“He is certainly not going to be my mate on the pitch on Monday night.

“If the ball comes between him and me, I will go for it and I will smash him!”

Since Bassong’s arrival he has learned plenty about the meetings with Sunderland, while the dates with Middlesbrough were regarded just like any other fixture.

The build up to this particular Tyne-Tees derby, however, has been different and, having been plucked from French football last summer, the 22-year-old defender is desperate to repay his employers by keeping them in the topflight.

“Middlesbrough will be the massive game of the season, we have to be ready to fight,”

he said. “We have to win, that’s it.

“Everyone told me a lot about the Sunderland derby, but this is the most important derby of the season, definitely.

We have trained well during the week. We need a bit more concentration and we can’t arrive not thinking like that.

“Every player involved cares.

“We can’t leave Newcastle in this position and think about leaving if they went down.

“None of us can think like that.

“Newcastle are a big, big club and we all care about the situation.

“We want to keep Newcastle in the Premier League, where they belong.

“It would be a real shame if they went down. Newcastle gave me that chance and I have to give them something back.

“That’s why I try every week and I am doing my best to keep them up.”