Gus Poyet: A Newcastle fan once called me a tw*t, but I respect both north-east clubs

Former Sunderland manager Gus Poyet reveals what life was like in the north-east pressure cooker and tells of one bizarre incident with a Newcastle United fan.

Newcastle and Sunderland mix like oil and water. So as Sunderland manager I knew that there was a risk when I went to Newcastle for a meal or to do some shopping.

I did it many times. It’s a fine city and despite my Sunderland team beating them three times in three games, I never had any problems. Apart from once.

I’d just left a restaurant and was walking back to my car when I saw a man change direction and walk across me.

“Wrong city, tw*t,” he said. He didn’t even think I was worth looking at as he walked off. I didn’t say a word, but I knew where he was coming from. I quite liked his style. He was so passionate about Newcastle that he didn’t think that the Sunderland manager should be able to walk the streets of his city. I’m sure the manager of Newcastle would have encountered similar in Sunderland.

I’ve lived in many big football cities around the world, but none where football matters quite as much as in Sunderland and Newcastle.

When I became Sunderland manager, I chose to live there. I knew some players lived further away or in Durham, but I wanted to be close to the training ground and not detached from the city where I worked. There was a big job to do at a club which had won one point from seven games.

My family stayed at home near London as that was where their life was. I tried to live normally. It was impossible, but in a good way. In London, a trip to the bank takes ten minutes. In Sunderland, a trip took an hour of smiling for photos.

I had a problem with my knee and needed to cycle with the goalkeeping coach. We’d ride our bikes along the beautiful seafront by the North Sea and cars would be beeping me, people would be waving and wishing me well for the next game. I felt like a rider in a mountain stage on the Tour de France!

I’d only been there a week when I was asked to switch the city’s Christmas lights on. I was reluctant, I was new and the team hadn’t been playing well. I didn’t want to be booed straight away. But wins against Newcastle and – luckily - Man City lifted the mood. When I got on the stage to pull a big gold ball on the end of a lever, I felt like a pop star. There were 20,000 people there in the freezing cold and the mayor said they wanted to say hello to me. Incredible.

I wish things had worked out differently and I could have given those fans the success they deserve. And Newcastle fans deserve success too. Look at the support both clubs get. Around 90,000 people watch their home games. They don’t talk about being fans or sit in armchairs, they actually go to games.

I lived in an apartment block and word soon spread. I’d get letters from neighbours, they were proud that they lived in the same block as the manager of their team. When times were good, they were great.

We beat Man United away in the League Cup semi-final on penalties. It was 3am when I got home. The neighbours had put a giant Sunderland scarf around the plant in the hallway and there were Sunderland shirts in the windows of my apartment building like you’d see the flags of countries in other parts of the world.

My instructions when I arrived from the people I came across every day were simple: beat Newcastle and stay up. I did that. They said they could cope with the rest of what was thrown at them as a Sunderland fan. When we beat Newcastle 3-0 away, it was spectacular. We also beat them at St James Park with a last minute winner in December 2014. Imagine the emotion. I found it difficult to contain and our away fans didn’t stay sitting down in their seats either.

I think Newcastle fans had a love hate relationship with me. As a player, I scored against them six times, including twice for Chelsea in the FA Cup semi-final at Wembley. My Brighton team knocked them out of the FA Cup – twice, in successive seasons.

So little wonder that the guy didn’t want to see me in his city, but then he shouldn’t live in such a good city with so many excellent restaurants and things to do which attract outsiders like me.

I found the Geordie people to be football crazy, but respectful. We flew out of Newcastle Airport all the time. Again, we had nothing but good experiences.

Those two north-east giants haven’t won a game between them so far this season and are bottom of the Premier League. It would be terrible if they both went down - though both sets of fans would have no problem with the other being relegated. I hope they both stay up – for the sake of their tremendous supporters.