HE is a Premier League and FA Cup winner, has represented his country and had the country talking about his wing-play, but Adam Johnson admits there is something different about derby day in Tyne & Wear.

It is not that helping Sunderland to victory over Newcastle United is as fulfilling as collecting medals on an individual front, just incredibly satisfying to know that local pride has been secured for a whole city after winning.

Since Johnson moved from Manchester City the Easington-born winger has never lost to the Magpies either at the Stadium of Light or St James’ Park.

When Sunderland head across the Tyne Bridge on Sunday, continuing that good run is highest in his thinking as the memories of previous encounters will stay with him forever – particularly the successive 3-0 triumphs in front of the Gallowgate.

“It is the intensity of the occasions you feel,” said Johnson. “You can feel that little bit more expectancy going into the game. There’s a pressure. When you get onto the pitch, if you didn’t know it was a derby, you can tell straight away. There is a completely different feeling. There is a tension. It is like a Cup final.

“Everything is just that little bit extra and you get that from the fans. They make it that way. They are nervous, they want to do well, but there’s almost a fear attached to it as well. That’s exactly what it is, fear; everyone wants to win it that badly. That is how I would probably describe it.

“I don’t have too many memories from before the games, it’s more afterwards, when you’ve won, you realise you’ve done it, the music is turned up and you’ve won the game. You get on the bus and you can see everybody there is fuming. That’s the best part! I think what made it more special over the last couple of seasons is that we really needed the points. We needed the wins regardless of whether it was the derby.”

That is the difference this time around. While Sunderland are only a couple of points above the relegation zone, they are in a much better position ahead of the derby than the last two years when they looked destined for the Championship in the latter stages of the campaign.

Johnson said: “The excitement is the same every time. There’s always a bit extra going into these games. For the fans, this is the only game that matters. We’re looking forward to it and we’re quietly confident again.

“I think we caught them a couple of times on the back of bad runs and we were confident going into them. I think it’ll be different this time, they’re high-flying. There’s not as much riding on it in terms of points for us and relegation. We can maybe go into it a bit more relaxed. I don’t think there’s as much pressure on us.”

Despite the fact Newcastle are sitting in eighth, there is a growing feeling that the pressure will once again mount on Alan Pardew if his team follow up the Capital One Cup quarter-final defeat to Tottenham with a fourth consecutive reversal against Sunderland.

Johnson said: “We’re aware of it (the growing pressure on Pardew), we’re aware they had a bad result, but they are still a lot more points better off than us in the league, so they’re still doing well. They’ve had a minor blip. Having said that, we’ll take anything we can that makes them tense and use it to our advantage.

“They’re at home as well and there is pressure on them and then there has been pressure on the manager before their recent run. We want to make sure the pressure is on them, that gives us a big advantage if all the expectancy is on them.”

Without a Fabio Borini – who scored in both wins over Newcastle last season – the need for Sunderland’s goals to come from other players has rarely been stronger. Scoring has been a problem for Gus Poyet’s side this season, while they have tightened up at the back.

Johnson, who has also scored on his last two visits to St James’ Park, said: “The hardest part of football is scoring goals and winning games. Hopefully it will come. We’ve been working hard on it. Maybe we can create some better chances and then our finishing will be a bit better, but overall we haven’t been that bad. We’ve been drawing games, but sometimes you need to score two or three to win in the Premier League.”

The goal problems were highlighted again last weekend when Sunderland failed to defeat West Ham. Jozy Altidore, prolific on the international stage, has gone more than a year without scoring in the Premier League and his miss against the Hammers last week was symptomatic of his problems.

Altidore was outstanding as a lone striker against Newcastle last season, even though he never found the net. Johnson said: “That’s the thing; we know how good he can be. We see it in training. That Newcastle game, he was unplayable that day.

“He’s big, he’s quick and he can finish. We all hope it turns around for him, because he’s a good lad as well. He is a nightmare for defenders - you should ask John O’Shea and Wes Brown. They will tell you he is a nightmare to play against. He just needs that little bit of luck, score a wonder goal or one that goes in off his backside – and scoring a winner in the derby would be the ideal way to do it.”