Alan Shearer smiles as he cheekily praises Sunderland for rolling out red carpet in ‘men against boys’ game

Newcastle legend Alan Shearer has cheekily praised Sunderland for rolling out the red carpet in their recent FA Cup clash.

Newcastle United made light work of their local rivals at the Stadium of Light on Saturday after winning 3-0 in the FA Cup third round.

Around 6,000 fans made the short trip from the city to Sunderland to watch the first Tyne-Wear derby in eight years.

The Championship outfit had already come under fire from their own supporters after a bar at the club was decked in Newcastle colours, as well as selling 6,000 away tickets.

And Geordie hero Shearer could not resist taking a cheeky swipe at the Black Cats while speaking to Gary Lineker and Micah Richards on their Rest is Football podcast.

Asked about opposition fans dressing his statue outside St. James' Park in a Sunderland shirt, Shearer said: «It did make me laugh some of the stuff on the socials. But it was a good day for Newcastle. It was a really, really important win.

»Men against boys, from start to finish. Sunderland rolled out the red carpet all week for the Geordies.

«They wanted to make the Stadium of Light feel like home for Newcastle. They certainly did that.

»They allowed 6,000 fans in and they had a great time in Newcastle, battered Sunderland."

But while there has always been some playful banter between the two teams, Shearer did admit he would love to see Sunderland get promoted to the Premier League.

“We don’t like each other,” he added. “And it’s pretty nasty but they are great games to play in.

“I mean, they might not thank me, but I really hope that Sunderland come up because Newcastle vs Sunderland games haven’t happened for such a long time that you do miss them, because they are great games to play in."

With Sunderland crashing out of the