KEVIN PHILLIPS is braced for a foul-mouthed torrent of abuse from the Toon Army if he marks his last Wear-Tyne derby with the winning goal today.

Phillips, 29, will quit Sunderland this summer, but he wants to leave the club's supporters with one final glorious memory of his six years on Wearside.

Newcastle fans have never subjected Phillips to the kind of vitriol that greets Alan Shearer whenever he plays for the Magpies at the Stadium of Light.

But the Sunderland striker expects a four-letter verbal volley should he make a decisive contribution to his side's valedictory Premiership derby.

He said: "The stick that I get from Newcastle fans isn't too bad. To be honest, I've always got on all right with them.

"But I've had quite a few people say to me, 'You've done really well at Sunderland and we respect you for that - but you're still a beep beep'!

"It's all part and parcel of the game and you just get on with it. You take the accolades when they come, and you take the digs and the knocks and the swearing when they come as well."

Phillips is confident he will recover from his groin strain to take his place in the Sunderland team at the Stadium of Light today.

He missed their 2-0 defeat to Newcastle in September through injury and he is determined his side should make amends after their woeful display that day.

The former England international said: "We were quite abysmal against them earlier this season.

"This match means a hell of a lot to our fans. It's about pride and passion, and in the last couple of games we haven't really had a lot of that.

"It's been amazing how many people have come up to me and said, 'If you beat Newcastle we're not too concerned about the relegation.'

"My record against Newcastle is pretty good and I'd like to continue that in this game.

"If we can keep Alan Shearer and Craig Bellamy quiet, we stand a good chance. Alan has shown what a great player he is in the last year-and-a-half.

"Before that, people were writing him off and saying he was over the hill. But he's responded in the right way.

"We'll give him respect, but we can't give him too much respect because he's only one player in a good team."

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