Sunderland manager Steve Bruce has slammed rivals Newcastle – and has already set his sights on revenge when the two sides meet later in the season.
Newcastle hammered the Black Cats 5-1 last weekend in the first North East derby of the season, with Kevin Nolan netting a hat-trick and Shola Ameobia scoring twice for the Magpies.
And Bruce was far from happy with the decision to play The Monkees’ “Daydream Believer” over St James’ Park’s PA system following the full-time whistle.
The home supporters sang along with their own version of the lyrics, aimed at Bruce and his well-beaten Sunderland side, infuriating the former Wigan and Birmingham boss.
He said: “It is 71 days until the next derby at our place, not that we are counting. I hope we can repeat the same dosage when they come to our place.
“It was typical of that club’s etiquette.”
And Bruce has urged his side to put the embarrassment behind them and focus on this weekend’s clash with Stoke.
He added: “There is no hiding place for us. It has happened and we must not let it derail our season. We are making some sort of progress.
“We have played some good stuff against some big teams. How do we respond? Get a result against Stoke, then we play two of the best teams in Europe, Spurs and Chelsea.
“It is 70-odd days to the next derby. That is a motivating force. Some will see through it and see we have a nucleus of a decent young side that got their backsides kicked from naivety and inexperience.
“But they will learn from it.”