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The Newcastle manager found himself on safe ground as he rang the bell.

The Newcastle United head coach had just got the 2023 Great North Run under way to rapturous applause in the heart of the city.

But he had not accounted for those Sunderland-supporting 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 not an ordinary rivalry. These North East neighbours have won only one significant title 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 North East derby as former Black Cats 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."

A fixture like no other

Nikos Dabizas also is aware of what can happen when these worlds collide.

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

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

"It's the passion of the fans," he said. "This feeling that goes from generation to generation. 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 Black Cats 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 Sunderland backing the government," he said. "It's rooted in political and economic tensions.

"Newcastle receive 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 far from 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 grasp the significance of it," the player said.

"It eased my life a lot easier. I was forgiven 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 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 "added responsibility" of this game because people in the North East "breathe their football".

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

"These represent two huge clubs - close from each other - with their own identities.

"In effect, 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."

A region reignited

That manager had nothing to fear.

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 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.

"After family, the club is the most vital thing to the people of this city," he said.

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

"They told me 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."

The club, 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 considerable distance ahead of others, at just 30 years of age.

"It's unlikely the fans really believed, 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 holdovers 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 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 beaten 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 clear of Newcastle in the table.

So it is all set up to be a gripping 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.