STUART McCall could have been a Geordie.

As a 20-year-old, Newcastle were keen to sign him and rang City with an offer.

“We played them in the League Cup and got beaten 1-0,” he recalled. “The next day Jack Charlton put in a bid for £100,000. But Trevor Cherry rejected it out of hand – I think we were looking for £110,000.

“It was probably just as well. Just imagine playing with Paul Gascoigne as a young kid. That could have ruined me for my whole career.

“It’s strange that I did end up doing that at Rangers – but it might have been a good thing that I was a bit older then!

“But I do remember playing against Newcastle in my first game for Everton after leaving Bradford. John Hendrie was playing for them for the first time as well.

“City were down at Brighton that day, so quite a few fans came over to Goodison to watch us. I’d sorted tickets out for some of them.

“Tony Cottee got a hat-trick on his debut and we won easily. There was over 40,000 at the game and 8,000 of them must have been Geordies – and they were still singing as loudly at 4-0 down as when it was goalless.”

McCall has always had a soft spot for such a hotbed of football and is relishing sharing the touchline with Rafa Benitez in tomorrow’s glamour friendly at Valley Parade.

The City boss said: “I went up there a couple of times when I was scouting and the atmosphere and warmth of the people was brilliant. It’s just a really good area for football.

“The game is everything to the Newcastle people. It’s like a religion – football is the biggest part of their lives.

“It’s a shame Newcastle have been struggling for a while and I was pleased to see them come back up.

“I don’t know Rafa that well but came across him when I was at Sheffield United.

“It would have been easy for him to walk into another job when they dropped into the Championship. But he backed himself with the resources they have to bounce straight back up.

“He has built the squad and regrouped with lads like Matt Ritchie, who I know well from Scotland, prepared to drop down.

“But you see the size of the fan base, getting 50,000 crowds at home, and players want to perform in front of that.

“They won’t just be looking to try to stay up in the Premier League this season.

“You see the bigger picture and the potential at Newcastle in huge. They could be a top-six club.”

Benitez’s side are expected to bring a healthy away support to West Yorkshire – they took nearly 3,000 for a friendly at Preston at the weekend.

Newcastle’s presence underlines the strong links developing with City.

McCall loaned Haris Vuckic at the start of last season and then Alex Gilliead in January.

The winger remains well thought of at his parent club, despite never having made a senior appearance.

The fact they were willing to send the 21-year-old back to Valley Parade, for six months at least, shows they have faith in McCall to keep developing him.

“We’ve got a good relationship,” said McCall. “I think Newcastle were more than happy with how we looked after Gilly last year.

“They had no reservations about him coming back and we were delighted to get him.

“For them to agree to play against us shows that the two clubs have that strong understanding.”

City had their eyes opened by Sunderland in the early stages on Saturday and McCall is braced for an even stiffer examination. Preparations today will include sitting down with the squad to go through the weekend’s match video.

The Bantams boss explained: “I’m looking forward to highlighting a few things and showing the players what we expect them to do in certain areas. Then it will be interesting to see what they take on board.

“It is useful and you wouldn’t get that if you are playing teams and winning 4-0 or 5-0. Although these games are difficult, you’re up against top players and we should enjoy pitting our wits against them.

“We have to be careful not to make knee-jerk reactions because you’re not playing against teams you will be facing week in, week out.

“They are at a higher level – but you still want to go out there and do your very best. I thought in the second half against Sunderland we showed some good qualities and hopefully we can look to carry that on.”