Kev's likes being thrown in at deep end
KEVIN Nolan was thrown in at the deep end on his Newcastle United debut.
For the midfielder's first appearance came against Tyne-Wear rivals Sunderland.
So tomorrow's Tees-Tyne fixture, be it a derby or not in the eyes of fans, holds no fears for Nolan, who captained Bolton Wanderers in many Lancashire clashes against Blackburn Rovers.
And the 27-year-old is confident he and his team-mates – who lead the Championship by six points – can prevail at the Riverside Stadium, just as they did at St James's Park, with goals from Shola Ameobi and Marlon Harewood having given Newcastle a 2-0 win over Middlesbrough in December.
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"We've had to be up for every game this season, but it does add a bit of extra spice with them only being down the road," Nolan told the Gazette.
"My debut was against Sunderland. You could tell that was a derby day – it was massive – but I'm sure Newcastle fans will still want us to win just as much, as there would be a lot of Middlesbrough fans who would be very happy if they came out on top.
"We've got to make sure that doesn't happen. It's more important because it's the next game – it doesn't matter who it's against. We've got to make sure we get promoted back into the Premier League.
"I know the fans don't call it the main derby, or a derby at all, but it's going to be played like a derby, there's no doubt about that.
"We've just got to make sure we apply ourselves, and hopefully we'll come out on top, like we did at St James's.
"When you speak to a lot of the Newcastle fans, they don't see it as a derby, but it's plastered all over the papers that it is a Tyne-Tees derby.
"I'm not really up with it, as I've only been here a year, but we're going to take it as if it's going to be another tough game.
"Middlesbrough have been doing well of late at home. Gordon Strachan's probably asserting himself on the team now, and it'll be tough for us."
Winning the Championship trophy would be extra special for Nolan, whose Liverpool-supporting family celebrated their team winning the same piece of silverware, as it was awarded to the champions of the old First Division before the Premier League's inception in 1992.
"That was one thing I spoke about with my family the day after we got relegated," Nolan went on.
"I went out with my dad, and we spoke about it being the same trophy that Liverpool won.
"With them being Liverpool fans, they said it would be lovely to win that, and that's when you know you've got good people around you. They said they've got to see the best of you this season.
"Hopefully, I'll get better as the years go on, and I'll be here for a long time.
"I hope this is the start of good things for me and this football club, and we'll be celebrating promotion, and maybe the title."
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Weather for Jarrow
Thursday 09 February 2012
Today
Light rain
Temperature: 1 C to 3 C
Wind Speed: 9 mph
Wind direction: South
Tomorrow
Light rain
Temperature: 1 C to 3 C
Wind Speed: 12 mph
Wind direction: South
