Dick Advocaat relishing first Tyne-Wear derby

Dick Advocaat has managed various teams at assorted points across the globe but one of the game's foremost "world travellers" is not about to underestimate the significance and intensity of the Tyne-Wear derby.

It would be easy for the former Holland coach to airily dismiss tomorrow’s home game with Newcastle United as a parochial skirmish but Sunderland’s new manager knows better than that.

Advocaat learnt his lesson during his first season in charge of Rangers in the late 1990s. After drawing his first Old Firm derby 0-0, the Dutchman's inaugural visit to Celtic ended in a 5-1 defeat.

“I made a mistake in one of my first games against Celtic after I’d taken over,” he said. “The media said it was a huge game. I said we had 24 huge games or whatever it was.

“We lost that game and I remember saying in the press conference, when everyone was really upset, that it wasn’t a problem. To be honest, at that moment I did not realise Celtic-Rangers was so huge.”

Sunderland are seeking a record-breaking fifth straight win against Newcastle but, with relegation a real danger, Gus Poyet's successor is far more interested in securing points. He has used the international break to try to alter Sunderland's mindset, to attempt to turn them into a team rather than a disjointed collection of individuals with only one win in their past 13 Premier League games. Guardian Service