Newcastle United supporters will love QPR star's cheeky Sunderland jibe

Newcastle United supporters will love what QPR star Isaac Hayden said about his first visit to the Stadium of Light at the weekend. The midfielder's Rs side played out a 0-0 draw against the Black Cats in the Championship on Saturday.

Hayden, who is on loan at Loftus Road from the Magpies, featured in the game and put in a number of crunching tackles against the North East opponents. The 28-year-old is enjoying a much more successful spell at QPR after his stay at Standard Liege earlier this season came to an underwhelming end.

Speaking to the QPR media team after the match, Hayden said: "A bit of disappointment. We deserved to come away with the victory, it's a case of taking our chances. In the first half, we had a couple of guilt-edged ones and second-half, towards the end, we had another couple of opportunities. We didn't give them an awful lot.

"I think we handled it quite well. With their trend at the moment and their supporters and fan base, if we score early and score first, then they go. It's disappointing we didn't quite get that today but at this stage of the season every point is crucial."

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Having already landed a half dig at Sunderland, Hayden was then asked outright whether playing the Black Cats came with an extra meaning for himself, having been on the books at Newcastle United since 2016.

Hayden replied: "Not really, to be honest. I've never played here, they were always a bit far away from Newcastle to be honest in terms of league. It's a good stadium, they've packed it out today, which they don't always do. Good atmosphere and nice game to play in."

Hayden joined Newcastle United from Arsenal in 2016 and put pen to paper on a huge six-year deal under Steve Bruce in 2020. Last week, LondonWorld reported that the midfielder had been told he had 'no future' in the North East should QPR look to make a loan move permanent this summer.