Derby concludes an 'interesting' week

The 51-year-old former Republic of Ireland international found himself at the centre of speculation that his time at St James’ Park could be drawing to a close, with several bookmakers suspending betting on his future just days ahead of tomorrow’s game with arch-rivals Sunderland.

Newcastle responded by insisting they intend to re-negotiate his contract, which expires in the summer, by the end of this calendar year.

Hughton said with a smile: “(Winning) would be the perfect end to a very interesting week for me. I have been involved in big derby games throughout my career, but I am aware of what this means up here.

“We have a home support that has been waiting for this one and we just hope the match lives up to the billing.”

Bruce will approach his first Tyne-Wear derby buoyed by the memories of major successes at St James’ Park as both player and manager.

He was a member of the Manchester United side which won 1-0 at St James’ in March 1996 as the Magpies’ seemingly inexorable march to the Premier League title unravelled.

He repeated the dose during his time in charge at Birmingham when the Midlanders headed north in January 2007 for a FA Cup third round replay and romped to a 5-1 victory.