SUNDAY'S big match will be my first taste of a real Scarborough v York City derby clash and, like all of you no doubt, I am really looking forward to it.

I remember playing at Scarborough in pre-season once but, by the time, they had got into the league, I had left York and, as with all derbies, I'm sure it will be a case of throwing the form-book out of the window. It's certainly a game that no player should need motivating for.

We have sold 1,400 tickets, which is magnificent, so our fans will be just as vocal and the lads have now got to make sure they look after themselves ahead of Boxing Day, which is always a big day in the football calendar.

Scarborough have started the season well and I have got a lot of admiration for Nick Henry but it's the team that fancies it most that usually comes out on top in derbies.

I remember in the 1980s City used to have some good games against Billy Bremner's Doncaster and I also recall going to Hull near the end of the season and winning to prevent them going up.

As a player, I experienced many derby atmospheres.

While I was at Fulham we had big matches against the likes of Chelsea, West Ham and Charlton although in London there's so many teams it does not quite feel the same as derbies in other parts of the country.

As a coach at Sunderland, we played Newcastle in the play-off semi-finals and they were massive games. In the first leg at home, we drew 0-0, missed a penalty and had Paul Hardyman sent off for kicking John Burridge on the follow-up.

That meant he was out for the return game at St James' Park and I think Newcastle thought the tie was as good as over because they had also finished above us in the league but we won 2-0 and went on to play Swindon in the final. We'd beaten Newcastle in front of 40 or 50 thousand fans and people still talk about it as being one of the biggest moments in Sunderland's history. Wherever we went after that, ecstatic Sunderland fans were wanting to congratulate us.

Newcastle had invaded the pitch when we were 2-0 up. It hurt them that much they wanted the game abandoned but the referee George Courtney assured me the game would be finished even if he had to wait three hours to clear the fans off.

I also experienced the Merseyside derby as a coach and that was an electric atmosphere. It's a more friendly event than others and there's no aggravation whatsoever.

We managed to win both times in my season with Howard Kendall at Everton so I'm hoping for similar success in North Yorkshire as I was lucky enough to have on Merseyside and in the North-East.

When I was at Sheffield United, contrary to the club's current positions, Wednesday were always in a higher division but they are both massive clubs and I remember just playing them in a local cup and it drew quite a big crowd with both sets of supporters still desperate to beat the other.

Everyone likes to get one over their local rivals and I don't think there's anything wrong with that as long as you go about it in the right way and there's no nastiness. You can have a healthy rivalry without any trouble either on or off the pitch.

The most important thing about derbies is that they are played and supported in the right spirit.

It is important that the game attracts no trouble on Boxing Day and I'm sure both sets of fans will observe that and help to make it a great occasion for everybody.

Updated: 10:36 Thursday, December 23, 2004