Gus Poyet has insisted that he enjoys the "extra pressure" of managing a club like Sunderland.
The 46-year-old, whose only previous managerial experience before taking up the Stadium of Light role was at Brighton & Hove Albion, believes that supporters in the Northern reaches of the country demand more from their team.
"I had been told how difficult it is to be managing in the North-East – and now I know," The Northern Echo quotes Poyet as saying. "It is a very special case with very passionate fans. When they are on your side, everything is fantastic, but on the other side, it is going to be an absolute nightmare.
"I think the passion of the fans is totally different up here. I have no doubt. They live football 24/7. It is all about football. It doesn't matter how young or old a person is, if they see me in Sunderland, they know who I am and they always speak. They ask me to beat Newcastle or win a cup, and that is because that is what they are living for.
"In the South, sometimes there are other things – there is not only football. Or there are more foreigners. It is different. Up here, there is an extra pressure, but I like pressure. Without pressure, I cannot work. To come in here just to have a job, then go home and it doesn't matter what happens – I wouldn't like it."
Sunderland play host to Stoke City this weekend looking to improve on their current position of 17th place in the Premier League table.
