McClaren: 'There's No Favourites'

By Dominic Scurr

Newcastle United head coach Steve McClaren is relishing the chance to go toe-to-toe on the touchline with Sam Allardyce in Sunday's Tyne-Wear derby at the Stadium of Light (noon kick-off).

Former Magpies boss Allardyce became the fourth consecutive Sunderland manager to be appointed just before a Tyne-Wear derby - a fixture he has managed just once while at Newcastle, when James Milner secured a 1-1 draw back in 2007.

Allardyce comes in to the Black Cats' hot seat just five months after being sacked by West Ham United, and with four wins, four defeats and four draws between the two managers, McClaren will be hoping to edge ahead of this opponent this weekend.

"It's good to see Sam again and good to see him back in the game so quickly," admitted United's supremo.

"Sam is an experienced manager who does a very good job at every club he goes to but I'm hoping it will take him at least a few weeks to find his feet at Sunderland.

"He will come in and feels he's got a fresh start at Sunderland, but we are just focusing on what we can do and not worrying about the opponent or the manager.

"Whoever the manager is, it's the Premier League, it's the biggest league in the world and each game is massively important."

The Magpies travel to Wearside looking for their first derby victory in more than four years, having lost each of the last five.

But McClaren - who was appointed head coach at St. James' Park in June - believes a new-look coaching set-up and new-look squad means they are approaching the fixture with a fresh pair of eyes.

"We don't know anything about the previous five games and neither do half the players," he continued.

"We're here to break history and tradition and we're here to prepare and win the next game and that's what we'll be doing.

"I don't think there are any favourites in this game. It's a derby game so form goes out of the window - it's a cliché but it's true.

"It's going to be difficult but we know their players very well and whatever the system and whatever their style of play, we know it's going to be tough.

"The main message we have for the players is to focus on their performance and doing their jobs properly.

"Our message to the fans is that we're focused on winning this game for them. What we want to do is focus on getting the result we want.

"If we do that I'll be absolutely delighted - not just for our players but especially for the fans."