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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 loud cheers in the heart of the city.

But he had not accounted for those Black Cats runners who were not so thrilled to see him as they whizzed past.

"The worst abuse I've ever had," he remarked this week. "I got verbally attacked by 50% of the people there."

This is far from an ordinary rivalry. These regional neighbours have won only one major domestic trophy between them in the past 50 years, and Sunday's game signals the first time they will meet in the Premier League for nearly a decade.

But hardly any fixtures bring a region to a standstill quite like the Tyne-Wear derby as former Sunderland manager Peter Reid knows better than most.

"These are football crackers," he said. "Let's just say, there is a little bit more needle up there."

'The two biggest games of the season'

A former Newcastle defender also is aware of what can happen when these forces collide.

A huge framed photograph in the ex- Newcastle defender's home acts as a daily reminder.

It captures the Greek wild-eyed, shirtless and surrounded by his elated team-mates, after scoring the winner in front of the traveling support at the Stadium of Light in 2002.

This was a fixture that definitely 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 fierce 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 go back to the English Civil War with Newcastle supporting the monarchy and the other side siding with the government," he said. "It's all historical and economical tensions.

"Newcastle get the funding, Newcastle have the big city, Newcastle are the ones people always talk about when it comes to the North East. The other side are always overshadowed."

But it is not at all one-sided.

A former player's father was even "mobbed" by delirious Newcastle supporters after his son scored a match-winning free-kick in a 1-0 victory at the Stadium of Light in 2011.

That is how much it meant to the Geordies.

"I needed a while afterwards to realise the significance of it," the player said.

"It eased my life a lot simpler. I was forgiven to make the odd mistake when playing, simply 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 recently 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 "breathe their football".

He said: "There are some derbies where you are unsure why they are derbies. This one, you do.

"These are two massive clubs - not far away from each other - with their own character.

"Realistically, they are the two most important games of the season so you are aware 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 single derby in the Premier League since then.

In fact, The Wearside club have triumphed in six of the last seven meetings in the top flight.

A former Sunderland manager oversaw half of those victories, having swiftly realised that the fixture was "much bigger" than many those from afar 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 alter the atmosphere of the city so imagine the result of the derby? You can sense it.

"They told me on the first day. 'Please stay up, but you must beat Newcastle'. I remain unsure if it was more important to stay up or to beat Newcastle."

Sunderland, like Newcastle before them, eventually slipped through the drop in 2017, and spent eight years outside 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 pronounced.

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

"It's unlikely 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 survivors from that 3-0 defeat in Sunday's lineup following the inspired arrivals of several new signings.

Sunderland also have a different manager, of course.

Not only has he led Sunderland to promotion - his bold side have competed evenly against 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 home soil.

Such an impressive start to the campaign means Sunderland go into Sunday's game a point clear 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 back on the map with elite fixtures again," a former player added.