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Eddie Howe found himself on safe ground as he sounded the bell.

The Magpies head coach had just got the 2023 Great North Run started to rapturous applause in the heart 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 remarked this week. "I got verbally attacked by 50% of the people there."

This is far from an inter-city rivalry. These regional neighbours have won only one significant title between them in the past 50 years, and Sunday's game marks the first time they will meet in the Premier League for nearly a decade.

But few fixtures halt an area quite like the North East derby as former Sunderland manager Peter Reid understands better than most.

"They're football crackers," he said. "Put it this way, 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 forces collide.

A huge picture in the former Newcastle centre-back's home serves as a daily reminder.

It captures the Greek ecstatic, bare chested and surrounded by his jubilant team-mates, after netting the winner in front of the traveling support at the Stadium of Light in 2002.

This was a fixture that definitely made an impression on him.

"The key is the intensity of the fans," he said. "It's something that goes from father to son. This tradition makes this game so unique."

So what is at the root of the fierce rivalry between two one-club cities less than 15 miles apart?

Well, as far as a Sunderland loyal fan is concerned, it transcends football itself.

"You can trace it to the English Civil War with Newcastle siding with the monarchy and Sunderland siding with the parliament," he said. "It's all historical and economical factors.

"Newcastle get the funding, Newcastle have the metropolitan status, Newcastle are the ones people always talk about when it comes to the North East. The other side are always shadowed."

But it is not at all 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 Geordies.

"It took a little bit of time afterwards to grasp the significance of it," the player said.

"It eased my life a lot simpler. I was allowed to make the occasional 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 not long 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 understood 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 do.

"These represent two massive clubs - not far away from each other - with their own identities.

"Realistically, they are the two most important games of the season so you are conscious that the last thing you want to do is to lose, particularly in your own stadium."

'The world will know the North East is back on the map'

That manager need not have worried.

His side ended up hammering 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 meetings in the top flight.

A former Sunderland manager oversaw half of those victories, having swiftly realised that the fixture was "much bigger" than many those from afar thought.

"After family, the club is the most important thing to the people of Sunderland," 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 feel it.

"They told me 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."

The club, like Newcastle before them, eventually succumbed to the relegation trapdoor 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 difference was pronounced.

The combined cost of Sunderland's starting line-up that day was a tiny portion of the £40m Newcastle had spent on a single player.

The most experienced individual in the hosts' starting line-up was a clear margin ahead of others, at just 30 years of age.

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

In numerous 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 new manager, of course.

Not only has he led Sunderland to promotion - his fearless side have competed evenly against some the best teams in the top flight.

In fact, the reigning champions are the only team in the current top six to have beaten Sunderland this season, while his side are also unbeaten on their own ground.

Such an impressive start to the campaign means Sunderland go into Sunday's game a point clear of Newcastle in the table.

So it is all set up to be a gripping afternoon when these rivals face off again at the Stadium of Light.

"Come Sunday, the world will know the North East is back on the map with elite fixtures again," a former player added.