If all goes well this weekend, Owen Bailey will be toasting not one but two derby successes.
The main business comes later today when Doncaster Rovers captain Bailey leads out the team for a South Yorkshire dust-up at Barnsley. Then, Sunday lunchtime, the lifelong Newcastle United fan (and former academy captain) will tune in to watch his beloved Magpies take on their arch-rivals Sunderland as they bid to end a long, 15-year wait for a Premier League win over the Black Cats.
Whilst there's plenty riding on Sunday's game from a personal point of view, from a professional stance his full focus is on Oakwell this afternoon.
"They're all big games, especially at this time of the season but at Barnsley, obviously, we want to get a positive result after last time," Bailey tells the Free Press, referring to the slender 2-1 loss suffered at the hands of Conor Hourihane's men in the reverse tie last November.
Rovers' captain Owen Bailey. Pic: Bruce Rollinson/AHPIX LTD.placeholder image
Rovers' captain Owen Bailey. Pic: Bruce Rollinson/AHPIX LTD.
"It's one I'm really looking forward to and I'm sure there'll be plenty of fans coming down with us. It should be a good atmosphere, a good game between two good teams and hopefully we can get a good result."
Once today's fixture is wrapped up - and hopefully Rovers are returning home with the derby spoils - Bailey's attention will quickly turn to the aforementioned Tyne-Wear tussle. Despite enjoying more success of late, Newcastle's recent league record against their bitter rivals isn't a great read. They've not beaten them in the top flight since 2010, with three draws and seven defeats in the next ten.
There's a distinct North-east feel to Rovers with Bailey joined in the black-and-white camp by another former Magpie, defender Jamie Sterry. But in the opposite corner there's Sunderland-loving winger Luke Molyneux, as Bailey explains.
"Yeah, I'm looking forward to it on Sunday," he added. "I think Newcastle need a win, really, don't they? So, I'm confident but obviously there's Mols and also Ian, the kit man, who have been winding me and Jamie up so hopefully Newcastle get the bragging rights back and put them back in their place come Sunday!
"I watched the last one with Mols and just before kick-off, he took his jumper off and he had his Sunderland strip on underneath with 'Molyneux' on the back. So, I think after that experience, I'll probably just leave him to watch it in the house, hid behind his settee and I'll go and enjoy it somewhere else."
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