Sunderland's Stephane Sessegnon out to banish painful derby memories against Newcastle

Stephane Sessegnon: Determined to help Sunderland claim derby success

Stephane Sessegnon is hoping his next experience of the Wear-Tyne derby will go better than his last, when he saw red.

The Sunderland midfielder was dismissed during a North East derby duel back in March, and his rush of blood ended up costing Martin O'Neill's men as Shola Ameobi grabbed a late leveller for Newcastle United.

Sessegnon is determined to make amends on Saturday, when the Magpies visit the Stadium of Light, and is setting his sights on helping Sunderland to a first victory over their arch-rivals since 2008.

He told the Shields Gazette: "I know the importance of this match now. It's a game where all that matters is winning.

"For me personally, yes, it's one where I want to do well because of the last match. After the red card, I felt dreadful, and there won't be a repeat.

"But at the same time, that passes and I want to give my best in this one.

"For the fans, it's a massive match and if we can win, it would give me a lot of pleasure."

Sunderland head into derby day on the back of a 3-0 defeat by Manchester City in their last Premier League outing, but looking to take plenty of positives from their last home fixture when they saw off Wigan.

Sessegnon added: "It was important that we got the three points against Wigan.

"That victory gave us a big boost to our confidence. We knew after that there would be two big games against Manchester City and Newcastle.

"As I said, it was important for us to get that first win for our confidence, and let's hope we can continue to pick up points."