'Another incentive': Eddie Howe now shares his motivation for progressing to the FA Cup fourth round

After many years without one, the Tyne/Wear derby is returning to football this season after Newcastle were drawn against Sunderland in the FA Cup third round.

The two sides have not met since 2016 after Sunderland embraced their inner Tom Petty and started freeeeeeeee, free fallin' down the league.

Since then Newcastle have undergone a high-profile takeover and under Eddie Howe have become a force to be reckoned with.

The Mackems hold the derby bragging rights at the moment, that will soon change

It's fair to say that the Mackems have had the upper hand in the derby of late winning at home in the 2015/16 season followed by a 1-1 draw at St James' Park, but now has to be our time. It will be interesting to see how this side handles a local derby.

We've had some big games under Howe, a Carabao Cup final, Champions League nights, clashes with top-of-the-table Premier League sides with important points on the line, but they will all pale in significance to a local derby.

This morning Eddie Howe faced the media ahead of the trip to Everton tomorrow where he was asked about the cup draw and his reaction to it with Keith Downie sharing his response via X.

'I thought someone was winding me up' - Eddie Howe

“I thought someone was winding me up when I heard.

“I was unaware of our recent record — but it’s another incentive for us to win the game.

“It will be an explosive atmosphere but we are used to that this season.”

It seems that Howe will use our recent derby record as a motivational tool for the players, although there are several in the squad who don't need to be told the importance of the fixture with homegrown talent like Dan Burn, Sean Longstaff, Elliot Anderson and Lewis Miley in the side. Not to mention Jacob Murphy and Lewis Hall who grew up as Newcastle fans despite not being from the region.

There are still eight more games to get through before we face that lot, which makes it sound like it's a long way away, but it's just one month until we get to right the wrongs of yesteryear. Hopefully, we'll have some players back from injury by then too. Maybe we can coax Shola 'Mackem Slayer' Ameobi out of retirement for a game.