Reasons To Be Cheerful Ahead Of The Wear-Tyne Derby!

SUNDERLAND, ENGLAND - DECEMBER 14: The LED scoreboard reading Sunderland 1-0 Visitors during the Premier League match between Sunderland and Newcastle United at Stadium of Light on December 14, 2025 in Sunderland, England. (Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/Getty Images) | Getty Images John Wilson says… What’s keeping me positive is the fact that this game certainly won’t define our season — and taking a longer-term view, it won’t define the trajectory the club is on. Of course it’s depressing whenever we lose — and certainly to them — but our visit to the ‘Visitors’ is in many ways still a free shot.

They’re the established PL team, they’re still in the Champions League and for years, they told us that we’re an ‘irrelevance’ to them. We’ve already proven everybody wrong on that front and we’re moving steadily in the right direction. Many things at the club, both on and off the field, are the best they’ve been in generations, so I wouldn’t be of a mind to be too bothered even in defeat.

That would make it a victory each this season and if any club is striding forward, it’s Sunderland. We need to remember where we’ve come from, where we are now — and be proud and assured that the club is in safe hands. Malc Dugdale says… Whatever happens at the weekend and during the remaining games of the season, perspective is crucial.

People may call me a ‘happy clapper’ or a ‘glass half-full merchant’ but it’s realism that matters and the steps we’ve taken are verging on unreal. This has already been a very successful season and it’s a compliment to the Lads that we’ve come so far that we already hope (and to an extent expect) for more. We need to avoid behaving in an entitled fashion, as nemesis always gets the upper hand on hubris, but it can’t be overstated that we’ve come a hell of a long way in seven months.