Sunderland midfielder Kieran Richardson has dismissed interest from Newcastle United.

He said: "I've heard that Newcastle came in for me but I don't know that much about it to be honest.

"But the truth is, it's not something that I really would have considered. That would be the ultimate slap in the face to the fans up here that have been so good to me.

"It was hard settling in here after coming from United and I struggled with a few injuries in my first season.

"That is all behind me now and I'm playing regularly and performing well for the team. I think that we have a good team here and we are all aiming for a top 10 finish.

"Going to Newcastle has no appeal to me and I want to let the fans know that I plan on being here and repaying them for their support when I was injured.

"It would have been great if we could have done the double over them and made some history, but we will be striving to do that next year."