Newcastle United legend Alan Shearer is excited about today's derby at Sunderland.

Shearer wrote in The Sun: "Last season Newcastle went to the Stadium of Light in the second match of the season.

"Newcastle won 1-0 and the Sunderland fans never forgave Brucey.

"I genuinely believe he was already up against it at Sunderland purely because he was a Geordie. But after losing that derby he won only another two games up until his sacking in December.

"Conversely, the result provided a massive boost for Alan Pardew as Newcastle went on a 10-game unbeaten run laying the foundations for a fifth-placed finish in the league.

"That is what a result in this game can do for either club.

"Let's not forget this fixture also proved the final act for Ruud Gullit at Newcastle in 1999 when he decided to leave me on the bench until late on and we got beat 2-1 at home.

"So let's forget about all this 'it's just another 90 minutes' 'it's still just three points' because it's not.

"This is as big as any derby and yes, I include Celtic against Rangers."