The Legends: Memories of the Tyne-Wear derby

MALCOLM MACDONALD:

“NEWCASTLE and Sunderland were always in different divisions when I was playing so the only time I played against them was in testimonials. It’s always good-hearted banter but very rarely is there anything malicious. I think there’s a two-way begrudging respect between the fans and I think it’s a good way to be.

“As a Newcastle player my memories of derby games were with Middlesbrough. I played against Sunderland at Arsenal. Never did I experience the atmosphere as a player and I’m sure it would have been quite different from any other game but it never happened, sadly.

“I really feel that both sides are simply playing for their pride and to get a bit of self-respect back after what happened last weekend. What I do recall is that when I was playing for Newcastle we had that absolutely horrendous day against Hereford. The week after we played Manchester United and we had to bounce back from that bad result and we went out and won the game 2-0. That’s exactly what both sides will be doing after their defeats to Stevenage and Notts County. It’s all about how you recover.”

MICKY HORSWILL:

“I NEVER played in a derby so I’ve just been to derby matches as a spectator at both places.

It’s what people in the North-East live for.

Football is their life up here and the derby match is bigger than Manchester United or Arsenal coming to town, bigger than all those games, because you’ve got to live with it for the rest of the year.

“If you get beaten you have to live with that until the next time so it’s a massive game for everybody, the players and the fans. They get stick if we beat them and we get stick if we lose. It’s an enormous game.

“We’re still hurting from what happened in October and that will always hurt because of the size of the score we lost by. We’ll be punished for years and years to come. Hopefully this weekend we can right that a little bit by getting one over on them and taking the three points off them.

“If you told us at the start of the season that we would lose to Newcastle twice and finish in Europe, we’d settle for that.

Everything is very close so you’ve got to go for the three points but it is the biggest game of the season for us and you want to win the biggest games.”

BERNIE SLAVEN:

“I LOVED derby games personally.

Of course I didn’t play in a Tyne and Wear derby but Newcastle and Sunderland I despised both of them.

There wasn’t one I despised more than the other but I know the importance of it obviously, coming from Glasgow. The Old Firm is the biggest in Britain by a million miles.

I’ve watched Newcastle and Sunderland derby games and they’re great to watch.

“The Tyne and Wear derby is the biggest one in the North-East. I’m not daft, I think Middlesbrough are third when it comes to big teams. Newcastle are top, Sunderland are second and Boro are obviously third.

They always get the bigger headlines in the top division but we knew that as Middlesbrough players that’s always the biggest one and it doesn’t matter what we do.

“We are dying to get back up there to be part of it, of course, because we feel isolated where we are.

Sunderland need a response from the 5-1.

“They went on a good run after the thumping and I hope Sunderland stuff them like a turkey.

These Geordie faces have big egos. They are great people and great characters but when it comes to football their egos are bigger than they really are!”

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Read their views every Saturday in Northern Echo Sport.