Joe Kinnear has spoken of his admiration for Roy Keane before locking horns with the Sunderland manager in the 140th Tyne-Wear derby today, hailing his fellow Irishman as a future manager of Manchester United. With Keane describing his interim counterpart at Newcastle United as “a genius” for his work at Wimbledon, a mutual admiration society has been established, although there will be little sign of it at the Stadium of Light.

“I’ve been in Roy’s company on occasions in Ireland and I know him very well,” Kinnear said. “I’m not surprised at how well he’s made the transition to management. Without being rude to Sunderland, I’d say he’s a Manchester United manager in waiting. I think he’s done the right thing learning his trade where he is. He won’t have any problem dealing with players, because of the player he was.”

The notion of Newcastle approaching this lunchtime’s match in a positive mood would have been laughable a week ago, but a battling draw with Manchester City against the odds has seen their confidence rise. They remain a club in flux, however, as can be gathered by recent episodes: Kevin Keegan’s resignation, Joey Barton’s return, Kinnear’s choice language, a potential takeover and so on.

“It’s been a crazy time at Newcastle because I’ve had many managers,” Gérémi, the midfield player, said. “But when you’re a footballer you just try to do your job because it’s not up to you — it’s down to the club to decide the people who manage the club. It’s difficult because you get used to one manager and suddenly they change. You have to adapt and it’s not easy. It’s been a bad period and we don’t want to remember that.”

Victory over Sunderland would clearly be embraced by supporters, but the status of the club remains vulnerable. Talks over Newcastle’s sale continue, but those close to the bidding process suggest that the deterioration of the global financial economy means that a resolution is not imminent.