Alan Pardew: “Of course. I don’t think there’s really too much to say about the weekend anymore – it’s done and we have to move on.
“For us the next game after Stevenage was always going to be important but because it is Sunderland it is even more important.
“I understand the importance of this game.
"I’m new in the area obviously but I’m beginning to find out just what it means and just how big it is.
"Listening to people talk about it, I’m already anticipating what it’s going to be like.
“I’ve been involved in derby games before as a player and as a manager – even Portsmouth against Southampton last year.
"But I would probably say that this is as big as any derby match that I’ve been involved with before.
“It is certainly a big fixture and of course all of the players know all about how big it is.”