Richardson warns of Stoke threat

Richardson scored the winner in Saturday's derby with Newcastle

Sunderland midfielder Kieran Richardson has warned his team-mates they must cast their derby joy to one side and focus on Wednesday's visit to Stoke.

Richardson, 24, scored the winner in Saturday's 2-1 win against rivals Newcastle United but is already eyeing a tough battle at the Britannia.

"It's going to be a hard game at Stoke and we've got to go there ready for war," he told BBC Radio Newcastle.

"Get Stoke out of the way and we can go on from there."

Saturday's derby win was the Wearsiders' first on home soil since April 1980, more than four years before Richardson was born.

Richardson, capped eight times by England, admitted it was a significant victory for everyone involved with the club, from players and backroom to the supporters.

"When you sign for Sunderland, we've got a lot of Mackems around the club, they drum into us early doors how much it means," he said.

"The foreign lads came in, it was credit to them, it was tremendous and they showed great spirit.

"Everyone knows how big the game is. When you sign, everyone lets you know how big it is and we delivered."

The former Manchester United winger joined Sunderland in July 2007 for �5.5m.