'Rolled out the red carpet...': Alan Shearer teases Sunderland over derby debacle and reveals promotion hope

Alan Shearer has poked fun at Sunderland after Newcastle United's win the Wear-Tyne derby last weekend, joking that the club 'rolled out the red carpet' for their visitors.

Newcastle United won 3-0 after a build up which was overshadowed by ticketing arrangements that left home supporters bewildered and enraged, reaching a crescendo when the club redecorated the Black Cats Bar with Newcastle colours and slogans. Shearer, speaking on his Rest is Football podcast with Gary Lineker and Micah Richards, said he initially couldn't believe it was Sunderland who were responsible when he saw the images.

The club initially promised an internal review of how the mistake had been made, with Kyril Louis-Dreyfus later saying he was 'hurt and disgusted' by what had happened. Sunderland are set to meet supporter groups later this month, with the incident likely to dominate the agenda.

"It was a good day for Newcastle," Shearer said.

"It was a really, really important win. Men against boys, from start to finish. Sunderland rolled out the red carpet all week for the Geordies.They wanted to make the Stadium of Light feel like home for Newcastle. They certainly did that. They allowed 6,000 fans in and they had a great time in Newcastle, battered Sunderland.

"When I saw the pictures [of the Black Cats Bar], I thought some of the Geordies had broken into the Stadium of Light and decorated the room that was going to be theirs. Sunderland actually did it themselves, can you believe that?! They somehow thought it was a good idea to decorate the bar out in black and white, and say welcome to the Geordies. Can you believe that? You couldn't make it up. They realised they had made a monumental error and had to put a statement out apologising to the Sunderland fans."

Shearer also said that he hopes Sunderland can earn promotion and make the fixture a more regular occurrence.

“We don’t like each other,” he added.

“And it’s pretty nasty but they are great games to play in. I mean, they might not thank me, but I really hope that Sunderland come up because Newcastle vs Sunderland games haven’t happened for such a long time that you do miss them, because they are great games to play in.”