"Without putting pressure on the team, this is what it's all about," he told The Journal.

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"This is the game the Sunderland people want, this means more to them than any other on the calendar, and the fact that we are back here and in with a shout is great. The game will show the players how good it gets.

"To get a goal in a game like this, or to play well or just to get a win, you put it in your little book and at the end of your career you look back and you say, 'Wow! What a great memory'.

"The players understand the importance of it, there's no doubt about that - and the beauty of football is you never know what can happen.

"Whoever gets it, it will be a very big thing."

Both sides dropped all three points in their previous Premiership match, but Sunderland fans took heart from a good performance against Man City.

And Quinn believes this is as good a time as any for players to earn themselves a place in Sunderland history.

He said: "The game is a blockbuster. I had a few years here as a player and it is always remembered by how well we did against Newcastle. It is an amazing thing, but that's the way it is.

"We have been on the back foot in the last few years, but I would like to think we are in a different place now.

"Our stock was high when we beat Newcastle 2-1 in successive seasons at St James's, and then it fell.

"This is a wonderful chance for us to kick on."