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The Newcastle manager found himself on firm footing as he sounded the bell.

The Newcastle United manager had just got the 2023 Great North Run started to rapturous applause in the heart of the city.

But he had not accounted for those Black Cats runners who were less than pleased to see him as they whizzed 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 ordinary rivalry. These regional 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 Tyne-Wear derby as former Sunderland manager Peter Reid understands better than most.

"They're football crackers," he said. "Put it this way, there is a touch of extra needle up there."

'The two biggest games of the season'

Nikos Dabizas also knows what can happen when these worlds collide.

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

It captures the Greek wild-eyed, bare chested and among his elated team-mates, after netting the winner in front of the away fans at the Stadium of Light in 2002.

This was a fixture that certainly made an impression on him.

"It's the intensity of the fans," he said. "This feeling that goes from father to son. This heritage makes this game so unique."

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

Well, as far as a Sunderland season ticket holder is concerned, it goes beyond football itself.

"You can trace it to the English Civil War with Newcastle siding with the monarchy and the other side backing the government," he said. "It's rooted in historical and economic tensions.

"Newcastle get the investment, Newcastle have the big city, 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 "mobbed" by joyous Newcastle supporters after his son scored a decisive 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 while afterwards to realise the significance of it," the player said.

"It made my life a lot easier. I was allowed to make the odd mistake when playing, purely because of that goal.

"Even now when I visit 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 boost the reputation of an already beloved 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 recognised the "added responsibility" of this game because people in the North East "live for their football".

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

"These are two massive 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, particularly in your own stadium."

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

That manager need not have worried.

His side ended up hammering 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 triumphed in six of the last seven contests in the top flight.

A former Sunderland manager masterminded half of those victories, having swiftly realised that the fixture was "much bigger" than many outsiders thought.

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

"The passion is such that the result of the club can change the mood of the city so imagine the result of the derby? You can sense it.

"I was informed 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."

Sunderland, like Newcastle before them, eventually slipped through 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 FA Cup nearly two years ago.

And the difference was stark.

The combined cost of Sunderland's starting line-up that day was a mere fraction of the £40m Newcastle had invested in a single player.

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

"I don't think the fans really expected, deep down, that we were going to win that game," a former midfielder said. "But now it's different."

In numerous ways.

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

Sunderland also have a new manager, of course.

Not only has he led Sunderland to promotion - his bold 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 defeated Sunderland this season, while his side are also unbeaten on their own ground.

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 captivating afternoon when these rivals face off again at the Stadium of Light.

"On Sunday, the world will know the North East is relevant again with top games again," a former player added.