Whenever I get asked the Newcastle and Sunderland derby question my consistent answer is this | OneFootball

By the Hammer of Thor, it has been a long, slow crawl back to Premier League action.

Yes, as Newcastle United fans we needed it while we all process the concept of winning a cup (eek) and the elongated international break has facilitated the weekend’s imminent celebrations, but it’s going to feel like a different season by the time we actually file back into St James’ Park for the visit of Brentford.

Incidentally, I have a view on how this match should be managed, as a roll off from the status of ceremonial League Cup Champions back to being Champions League contenders with a job to do.

I sort of trust the club and management to get it right, but for what it’s worth, I would bring out someone unable to be involved in the Brentford match but nonetheless played a role in winning the trophy, such as Gordon and/or Botman to wave yon Carabao about before the players come out for the game.

It can then rest on its plinth for the teams to walk past on the way out (a reminder to Brentford they’re playing trophy winners tonight!) onto the pitch.

Then when the game starts, the cup should be taken and popped in it’s cabinet, while the focus turns entirely and completely on the Premier League. The trophy can and almost certainly will reappear in end of season celebrations but the focus needs to shift entirely onto the second big target of the season, to land one of those Champions League spots.

As we take on the Bees though, there will be a similar return to post-Wembley action for our fellow finalists, and there’s an interesting little subplot to this one. Some slightly ludicrous chat has circulated, perpetrated in part by media institutions desperate for a title race that isn’t happening, that Liverpool’s recent wobbles might well transfer to their Premier League form.

For anyone not familiar with the current position, Liverpool currently sit 12 points clear of Arsenal, with both sides having nine left to play and Arsenal still to visit Anfield.

The scousers have crashed out of the Champions League and lost a cup final in magnificent fashion but still only have one defeat in the league. To suggest they will suddenly crash in four of the remaining nine, not to mention the run Arsenal will need to go on, is just not in line with reality. However, this hysteria might go up a notch this week, as Liverpool’s return to action sees them host Everton.

Suddenly, a routine game against the side fifth bottom and clearly inferior becomes a very tricky potential banana skin, simply under the banner of “derby day”. Oh yes, form goes out of the window, the plucky underdogs suddenly find a gear that simply doesn’t exist when they face your rivals for the top slots and the risk of injury and red cards increases tenfold. There’s a slight possibility this could make Liverpool’s wobble become a genuine concern. Now, ask yourself if you’d be happy if this happened to Newcastle United?

Yes, that’s what I’m getting at.

I have been asked at regular intervals over the years if I would prefer Sunderland to be back up for the derbies, or stewing away in the lower leagues, with this growing more pertinent as they continue to extend the longest stay outside of the top flight in their history.

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People will have varying opinions, from the certain-to-make-the-comments “I want them stuck in (insert name of extremely minor league for exaggerated comic effect)…”, to the more generous hope for the bustle and excitement of derby day returning.

As a quick aside, let’s explore the feasibility of this.

Given their travails of the last decade, the mackems are having a fairly decent season. The Championship is, as ever, wide open for 23 teams, with Sunderland a glaring exception. Two points separates the top three of recent Premier League alumni, with whoever misses out from Burnley, Sheff Utd and Leeds set to be hot favourites for the play-offs. Resurgent Coventry sit in fifth, with only ten points between them and 13th placed Norwich. They are only 11 points ahead of Derby, third bottom in a wide open scrap for relegation. So the whole league has something to play for, except that is for our neighbours, who sit 11 points adrift of automatic promotion but a solid twelve clear of those outside the play-offs. It would even take a major shift either way for them to come anything other than fourth.

So, let’s just say it comes to the play-off final and Sunderland play Burnley. The final PL club next season will either be a benign opponent offering a pleasant away day that we have doubled comfortably on their last two visits to the Prem, or the derby headache that Liverpool are facing now. A club that raises its game massively against you, but not your direct competition, that increases the chances of injury or suspension for your players and holds the potential for the very worst day of an otherwise enjoyable season.

So, whenever I get asked the derby question, that is my consistent answer. Keep them away because it’s bad from a Newcastle United perspective and I’m not bothered about any alternative view.

When we are all having a celebration on Saturday they have a relatively irrelevant game against Millwall (where hopefully the away fans will mention events at Wembley, thus causing consternation). The outcome won’t affect their status for next season, but any bad omens down there would be welcome, ahead of their own attempt at Wembley.

When you’re fighting for Champions League or (behave) the Premier League title, a couple of unexpectedly dropped points can be critical, and inflicting such a misfortune would be Sunderland’s cup win, if managing not to lose in a Premier League match to Newcastle United.

Our own cup wins now involve actual trophies, fortunately, so let’s all enjoy the weekend however you may choose to experience it, then get back to the next big challenge at the top end of the Premier next week. Canny times these.