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The Newcastle manager was technically 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 centre of the city.

But he had failed to anticipate those Sunderland-supporting runners who were less than pleased 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 inter-city rivalry. These North East 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 halt an area quite like the North East derby as former Sunderland manager Peter Reid knows better than most.

"They're football crackers," he said. "Let's just say, there is a little bit more 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 serves as a daily reminder.

It captures the Greek ecstatic, 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 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 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 trace it to the English Civil War with Newcastle siding with the monarchy and the other side siding with the parliament," he said. "It's all political 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 shadowed."

But it is far from one-sided.

A former player's father was even "swarmed" by delirious 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 home fans.

"It took a little bit of time afterwards to grasp 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 further elevate the standing of an already popular 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 "live for their football".

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

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

"In effect, 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."

A region reignited

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 solitary derby in the Premier League since then.

In fact, Sunderland have been victorious in six of the last seven contests in the top flight.

A former Sunderland manager oversaw 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 this city," he said.

"It's so intense that the result of the club can alter the atmosphere of the city so consider 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 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 contrast 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 considerable distance ahead of others, at just 30 years of age.

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

In so many 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 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 undefeated on home soil.

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 renew hostilities at the Stadium of Light.

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