JERMAIN DEFOE is primed to give Sunderland a real lift when Newcastle United travel to the Stadium of Light on Sunday after receiving Lee Cattermole’s lowdown on the Wear-Tyne derby.

Former Tottenham striker Defoe, who played in numerous North London duels with Arsenal during two spells at White Hart Lane, could not hide his excitement building up to the Magpies’ visit to Wearside when he chatted after training yesterday.

The 32-year-old expects big things when he walks out of the tunnel on Easter Sunday having been told everything he needs to know about it since the final whistle was blown at West Ham United on March 21.

There is extra importance on Newcastle’s latest trip across the Felling bypass, given how the Black Cats are desperate for the points to lift them clear of relegation trouble.

Defoe – aware that there are still some tickets remaining for Sunday’s derby - expects the atmosphere to be incredible when the game starts and he is desperate to make an impact given Sunderland’s plight.

“Catts has been telling me how crazy the derbies are,” said Defoe. “A lot of the boys, to be honest, have been telling me it’s on another level.

“As a player it’s in the back of your mind all week in training. You want to be sharp in training to make sure you’re 100 per cent prepared for the game. I’m just looking forward to it. All I want to do is win and score because it’s a massive game.

“The three points are so important as well, and it’s against Newcastle, so it’s like a cup final. Cup finals are special.”

Defoe’s previous outings in a North London derby clearly help in his preparations and he has been talking about his own derby day experiences in the hope of inspiring his team-mates to success over Newcastle.

“With a game like this that’s so important, I’ve said to the boys you’ve just got to prepare 100 per cent because there’s no excuses,” he said.

“You can’t go into the game thinking you’re a little bit tired. If you give everything and you don’t end up winning the game – any game – you can say, I couldn’t do anymore.

“The way the lads have trained this week, the way we’ve prepared has been spot on. All the lads have been going into the gym after training. Hopefully we can take that into the game.”

Over the years Defoe has been included on a list of potential transfer targets for both Sunderland and Newcastle a number of times, but it took until January for a deal to finally get done. He could, though, have quite easily lined up wearing black and white rather than red and white earlier in his career.

Defoe said: “I can’t really remember, to be honest. I remember when I was younger there was speculation and stuff. I’ve never been in the car going for a medical there.

“It’s been the same here. Under Steve Bruce and Martin O’Neill there was speculation. I’m looking forward to this game now as a Sunderland player. Especially if we win, it’s going to be special.”

While Defoe has struggled to add to his two goals for Sunderland since his arrival from Toronto, his team-mates have been unable to find the goals to lift the club away from relegation trouble.

But Steven Fletcher became the first Scotland player to hit a hat-trick since 1969 when he delivered against Gibraltar in midweek. Defoe holds a similar record, given he was the last England player to do so when he hit three against Bulgaria in September 2010.

“It’s special. To score a hat-trick, it’s never easy,” said Defoe. “You could get any team to come and run around and it’s still difficult because you’ve still got to put the ball in the net.

“It was watching the game and when he got the first I thought, ‘he’s going to get a hat-trick,’ because the way the game was going, I knew he was going to get chances.

“It was good for him to get a hat-trick and even in training you can see the confidence come back and trying things and stuff. It’s important for the team. I’m buzzing for Fletch, everyone’s buzzing for Fletch, to be fair. At the end of the day forwards get judged on scoring goals and that’s what we want to do.”

Sunderland are just a point above the bottom three so they could be in the relegation zone by the time the first whistle is blown against Newcastle. Defoe, barring a fitness blow, is a certainty to start, but would he prefer to start with Fletcher?

“I don’t mind, really,” he said. “Even when I’ve been at other clubs with a lot of forwards, people would ask who would you rather play with but they’re all good players, so the manager picks the team. The manager’s changed things to find a partnership.

“The way we played at West Ham with two up front and a No.10 behind allows us to create more chances. I don’t know how we’re going to play on Sunday but if we do play that way it’s like playing with three forwards, so we’ll see what happens. But if we’re playing with three forwards and we’re all on our game, it’s good for the team.”