´óÏó´«Ã½

I am sure that all across both sets of fans have been looking forward to this game - maybe more so than the players.

It is the game where half the city go to work on Monday morning with a smile on their faces (and maybe a slight hangover) and the other half dread seeing their mates who support the other side.

I had not been at Sheffield Wednesday long when the first fan told me of the importance of the Steel City derby. And when I got my first taste of it I certainly was not disappointed.

A 95-year record was on the line of beating them home and away. You could sense the tension on the coach during the short journey to the game. The lads were just itching to get out there and give everything they had to win it.

The atmosphere was electric and we got off to a fantastic start with a great strike from in the first minute. Then United started to get a few chances themselves and drew level through .

But we did not let our heads drop and kept pressing. And what a goal to win a derby and break a 95-year record.

collected the ball on the halfway line and the rest was history. When the ball left his foot from near 30 yards it was only heading in one direction and that was the top corner past .

Michael Gray (left) represents Sunderland in the Tyne-Wear derby

I've been fortunate to be involved in some amazing derby games, including v and v , and you never forget the great memories from them.

We went to two years in a row as underdogs and beat them 2-1 on both occasions. That was incredible.

lobbed to win the first and rose to meet a cross from myself to take the spoils in the second. Those games were very special to me and I will never forget them as long as I live.

The Celtic-Rangers game! I thought nothing could be bigger than a north-east derby until I went to play for Celtic. How wrong could I be! We played at Ibrox and beat them 1-0 with a header.

The build-up to the game started two weeks beforehand. Everybody from people in shops, restaurants and just walking in the streets were telling me how much we needed to win against the arch rivals.

It was crazy how passionate they were - and I found out why when I was standing in the tunnel.

The noise in the ground was like nothing I had heard before. The hairs on my neck were standing up and there was no hiding place - you just had to perform.

And that is what I'm expecting once again on Friday night.

Leading into the game, both ourselves and United have come off the back of a midweek defeat.

For us, it was a frustrating night against when . scored his first goal of the season and it was a sensational strike but that was cancelled out by some costly errors.

Middlesbrough's Jeremie Aliadiere celebrates after scoring against Sheffield Wednesday on Tuesday

It is never a good idea to present a team of Middlesbrough's quality with scoring opportunities but that is what we did on Tuesday and we were punished for it, despite playing some good stuff.

The players will quickly put that to the back of their minds now because we all know the importance of Friday's match.

It's also with fundraising opportunities so all of the city will be supporting the derby.

Sheffield Wednesday became the first club in the to give its shirt sponsorship to a charity this year and that is something everyone at Wednesday is very proud of.

To know that more than three points and bragging rights will be at stake from this game, and that we can all do good by supporting the Children's Hospital, puts the match into perspective.

I hope it is a fantastic game at , with lots of passion, and that the 3,000 travelling Wednesday fans come away with big smiles on their faces.