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

The Newcastle United head coach had just set the 2023 Great North Run started to loud cheers in the centre of the city.

But he had failed to anticipate those Sunderland-supporting runners who were not so thrilled to see him as they whizzed past.

"The worst abuse I've ever had," he said 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 significant title between them in the past 50 years, and Sunday's game marks the first time they will meet in the Premier League for almost ten years.

But few fixtures halt an area quite like the Tyne-Wear derby as former Sunderland manager Peter Reid understands better than most.

"These are football crackers," he said. "Let's just say, there is a touch of extra needle up there."

A fixture like no other

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

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

It captures the Greek ecstatic, bare chested and among his jubilant 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 left its mark on him.

"The key is the passion of the fans," he said. "It's something that goes from father to son. This tradition makes this game so unique."

So what is at the core of the intense rivalry between two football-mad towns less than 15 miles apart?

Well, as far as a Sunderland loyal fan is concerned, it goes beyond football itself.

"You can go back to the English Civil War with Newcastle supporting the monarchy and Sunderland siding with the government," he said. "It's rooted in political and economic tensions.

"Newcastle get the funding, Newcastle have the metropolitan status, 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 "swarmed" 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 mattered to the home fans.

"It took a while afterwards to grasp the significance of it," the player said.

"It made my life a lot easier. I was allowed to make the occasional 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 our rivals'."

A derby win can even further elevate the reputation of an already popular 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 technically been three points at stake, but he quickly understood the "extra weight" 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 huge 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, especially in your own stadium."

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

That manager had nothing to fear.

His side ended up thrashing 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, Sunderland have been victorious in six of the last seven meetings in the top flight.

A former Sunderland manager oversaw half of those victories, having quickly 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.

"It's so intense that the result of the club can alter the atmosphere of the city so imagine the result of the derby? You can feel it.

"I was informed 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."

The club, like Newcastle before them, eventually slipped through the relegation trapdoor in 2017, and spent eight years outside the top flight.

So a division divided these rivals when they last met in the FA Cup nearly two years ago.

And the contrast was pronounced.

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

The most experienced individual in the hosts' starting line-up was a considerable distance 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 changed."

In numerous ways.

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

Sunderland also have a different manager, of course.

Not only has he led Sunderland to promotion - his fearless 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 beaten Sunderland this season, while his side are also undefeated on home soil.

Such an strong 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 renew hostilities at the Stadium of Light.

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