Forget gracious gladiators of the oche, it's time for Sunderland and Newcastle to earn their stripes

One of the many impressive aspects of Wednesday's World Darts Championship final between Luke Humphries and Luke Littler was the measured post-match interviews given by the youthful rivals. 

New world champion Humphries managed to convey his delight at reaching the pinnacle of the sport while acknowledging that Littler's run to the final was all anybody really wanted to talk about.

And the teenage runner-up nailed the crestfallen-but-proud tone, also demonstrating the cool patience of someone who knows he's going to be asked a question about celebratory kebabs after every victory for the next 40 years.

Class acts on and off the oche, Humphries and Littler set an example of sporting graciousness that, realistically, is unlikely to be matched by their so-called elders and betters at the Stadium of Light on Saturday.

Sunderland's FA Cup third-round tie against Newcastle may as well be a Champions League final for fans of the north-east clubs and the rest of us can look forward to that delicious blend of spite and silliness which only a proper British football rivalry delivers. 

Newcastle manager Eddie Howe – it's mad to think he's only 16, isn't it? – claimed he "thought it was a joke" when someone informed him about the Sunderland draw.

That was probably the last time Howe saw the funny side of anything as, since that fateful cup draw on December 3, the Magpies have lost five of their six Premier League matches and been knocked out of the Champions League and the EFL Cup.

Not to be outdone in the chaos stakes, Sunderland reacted to the confirmation of their FA Cup date with Newcastle by sacking manager Tony Mowbray the following evening.

The owners clearly had one eye on the all-important cup clash as they opted to replace Mowbray with Michael Beale, a man who has experienced more than a dozen Old Firm derbies, first as a coach and then manager at Rangers.

Given that the most feisty derby in which Howe has participated was probably a pre-season friendly between Bournemouth and Poole Town, Beale's tours of duty in Glasgow will surely give Sunderland a competitive edge.

The Championship hosts are a division below Newcastle and have been facing Preston and Millwall rather than Paris St-Germain and Milan this season, but they have a proud head-to-head record against their local rivals.

The teams haven't met since a 1-1 Premier League draw at St James' Park in March 2016 and before that game Sunderland had won six in a row against the Magpies.

Perhaps concerned that beating their odds-on visitors again might prove too easy, Sunderland sportingly attempted to undermine their own home advantage this week.

Pictures emerged on Thursday of pro-Newcastle slogans pasted on to the walls of a Stadium of Light bar which would be slaking the thirst of away supporters at the weekend.

The social-media responses from Sunderland fans ranged from "absolutely appalled" to "sack the whole [expletive] board, this is shameful" and prompted a swift removal of the black-and-white-striped decor.

I'm sure both Beale and Howe will try to downplay those pre-match interior-design mind games but the episode has certainly added another layer of animosity to the fixture.

And, as the Sunderland-Newcastle clash has been serendipitously scheduled for January 6 – the official end of the season of goodwill to all men – there is absolutely no excuse for any fake festive bonhomie between the Mags and the Mackems. 

It's time for the latest generation of Sunderland and Newcastle players to earn their stripes – and woe betide them if those stripes are in a rival club's colours.

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