Sunday 20 March 2016 19:56, UK
Graeme Souness thinks Sunderland and Newcastle still have an "enormous job" to get out of the Premier League relegation battle after their derby draw on Sunday.
In a Tyne-Wear clash billed as one of the biggest ever, Aleksandar Mitrovic salvaged a point for Newcastle with a late equaliser after Jermain Defoe had put the visitors ahead.
The result leaves both sides in the bottom three with eight games left to play this season.
"Both of them still have an enormous job to get out of the mess they're in," said former Newcastle manager Souness on Super Sunday.
"Sunderland leave St James' feeling sorry for themselves. They had the three points and lost it.
"Newcastle finished the game with their tails up and their never-say-die spirit kept them going and got them a point. The happier team will be Newcastle."
The pressure was on the two north east sides after Norwich won at West Brom on Saturday to move out of the bottom three.
The Canaries are two points above Sunderland and three above Newcastle, albeit having played a game more.
"If you're Norwich playing in this situation, you're not playing under anywhere near the same pressure as Newcastle and Sunderland players are," added Souness.
"They will be living it every day. They can't get away from it in both those towns and it's very much pressure on for those boys. If Palace get dragged into it or Norwich, they are playing with a little bit more freedom."
While the draw does little to help either team in their relegation fight, Jamie Carragher thinks Mitrovic's 83rd-minute goal could prove to be crucial for Rafa Benitez's Magpies.
"I think that goal today for Newcastle is so huge, "he said. "As you were coming to the end you were thinking Norwich and Sunderland could be four points ahead of Newcastle.
"If they then lost the next game against Norwich I think that would have been it for them. That's how important that goal is. Seven points? You're not making that up.
"That goal today was vital and Rafa's changes had a big impact. He brought [Jack] Colback off and put [Moussa] Sissoko at left-back, which was a bit of a strange one, and he took [Andros] Townsend off, but those changes worked.
"It was a huge goal for them."
