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Pardew: 'Time To Win Back Derby Pride'
Written by Newcastle Utd
Alan Pardew knows that nothing can change the result of the most recent Tyne-Wear derby - but has challenged his team to make up for it on Sunday
By Dan King - Newcastle United Digital Editor
No extra motivation is needed when Newcastle United take on Sunderland, but last season's defeat at St. James' Park has made the Magpies even more determined to get a result at the Stadium of Light on Sunday.
Alan Pardew and his players are still smarting from that 3-0 loss on Tyneside when the two teams last met in what was Paolo Di Canio's second game in charge of the Black Cats.
Now Gus Poyet is at the helm - ironically this weekend's derby will also be his second match - while several new players have arrived on Wearside. The vast majority of the Newcastle side played in that game in April, though, and will be keen to make amends.
"There's always something on every game but in this game, a little bit more," Pardew said.
"Firstly it's a derby and secondly, the last result. The team need to reflect that.
"We're off the back of a performance against Sunderland that wasn't acceptable by our own standards, let alone anyone else's, so there's that to factor in to our psychological levels.
"You can't change the past - that will always be Paolo's day. For us, it's a different game and hopefully a much better performance from us - and also a result, of course.
"We've had really good results since I've been here, apart from the last one. I want to make sure that we put that right."
While this will be Poyet's first taste of a Tyne-Wear derby, Pardew knows all about the passion which they generate.
"It always brings a little bit of tension to the training ground, in a good way," he said.
"We're looking forward to it. We're off the back of two good performances and we want to get a third one under our belt.
"It's Gus's first home game as manager of Sunderland so there'll be an extra special atmosphere there and we need to be prepared for that.
"Hopefully we will. We've got a good side, I think we've got a very attacking side, and I think we're good to watch when we're in full flow. Hopefully we can bring that to the surface on Sunday.
"They've got one point, so there's a lot of pressure on them, but I think they've got good players. It's always difficult at the Stadium of Light. I've seen two games this year and I thought they did okay - they were a little bit unfortunate certainly not to beat Fulham on the opening day.
"So they've certainly got the standard to stay up. But if we can win, we'll put them in a difficult position and obviously that's what we want to do: win for ourselves.
"Any result there will be a good result in my opinion - a draw or a win - but being what we come off from the last game, we want to win if we can."