The likes of Alan Pardew and Ruud Gullit know how damaging a home defeat in this fixture can be
Eddie Howe during the Champions League clash against Barcelona
Newcastle United head coach Eddie Howe
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Eddie Howe admits Newcastle United players owe their public a derby victory after the disastrous reverse fixture at the Stadium of Light earlier this season.
That day, with Newcastle looking shattered after a Champions League trip to Germany, a Nick Woltemade own goal earned the Wearsiders the North-East bragging rights. It turned the heat up slightly on Howe with some sections of the fanbase, and as Newcastle go into this clash on the back of a European exit in Barcelona, the season is very much on the line for Howe and his players.
Putting aside local pride, failure to win would leave the Magpies with it all to do in the remaining Premier League fixtures as they scrap for a Europa League or Europa Conference League spot.
When pressed on the failure to grasp the occasion last time out against Sunderland, Howe said: "I don't think there's any doubt about it. We didn't reach the standards and level of performance that we would pride ourselves on.
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"And the main thing, you just heard me say it many, many times over the years, is effort, commitment. You know, winning our individual duels, winning the battle on the pitch.
"You can do all those things and still lose, but you leave with a feeling that we left it all out on the pitch.
"And nine times out of ten this season, albeit so many games, I feel the players have delivered that. That was one of a collection of small games, I think, this year, where we've been disappointed with ourselves.
"And then it's a process you go through to sort of mourn that loss and that performance and then analyse it and come back stronger. And that's what we've tried to do."
Defeat at home to Sunderland always has a catastrophic impact on Tyneside. It caused a meltdown in 1990 when the Wearsiders beat Newcastle in the old Second Division play-offs as fans flooded on to the pitch.
In 1999, it cost Ruud Gullit his job as the Black Cats won in monsoon conditions at St James' Park. Even Sir Bobby Robson endured a backlash after an Alan Shearer penalty miss in 2000 in front of the Gallowgate End. And losing twice to Sunderland at home in 2014 was the beginning of the end for Alan Pardew.
Given a loss for Howe would increase the noise for him and spark calls for potential change, will Howe drum in the enormity of the fixture?
Howe told Chronicle Live: "I think they did know the enormity of the game (at the Stadium of Light) - but for whatever reason, we didn't perform to our normal level.
"And no excuses on that, we have to take accountability on that. I am not sure that drumming in a message is positive or the right thing to do.
"That is just a very negative message. I'd much prefer to go with a positive message because we need to inspire the players, not put fear into them.
"It is a very delicate balance with teams and professional athletes. What do you want them to think going into a game?
"We certainly don't want them to think: 'We can't lose'. You want them thinking they need to play at their best level and execute my best game, all those positive emotions that is what you are trying to flood into the players."
Howe was also asked if he felt under pressure going into the game, not least after being walloped 7-2 by Barcelona.
Howe said: "I feel pressure going into every game; every press conference, every training session, it's part of the job.
"You've got to be able to be resilient enough to absorb that and still find a way to enjoy the job, to enjoy the challenges that the job brings.
"I think I've sort of become used to that through time and then you know when you're going into games, you know some have I think bigger consequences than others, but I always enjoy the bigger games.
"I didn't love the result, but I loved the game against Barcelona. I loved the first 45 minutes and was thinking this could go down as one of our best ever performances at that moment, and it's amazing how football can turn even within 90 minutes.
"But now we have to reflect on that and then move forward very quickly to this one and by the time kick off comes around we'll be ready."
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