SWISS BLISS WOULD GET US OUT OF JAM

NINE hundred miles from Newcastle United and a world away from the completion of a Saudi-led takeover of Newcastle United, Jamal Lewis is banking on three points in Switzerland.

In the same week that a Middle East consortium ended Mike Ashley’s 14-year ownership of his club, the Toon left-back’s only focus is on the task in hand in Geneva.

And that’s cashing in on a win that would see Northern Ireland leapfrog the Swiss and into second in Group C with three games to play.

“If we can get a big result, it would really give us a platform to kick on and finish as high as possible in the group,” said Lewis (above).

If Newcastle faced a defining week, Ian Baraclough (inset) and his players are also staring at a sliding doors moment at Stade de Geneve.

A defeat would leave the visitors six points adrift of the Swiss and wedged behind the eight ball heading into Tuesday night’s qualifier with Bulgaria in Sofia.

A win however would heighten hopes of securing a runners-up finish behind runaway leaders Italy and a play-off spot for next year’s World Cup in Qatar.

Northern Ireland conclude their campaign next month with home games against Lithuania and the Azzurri. “Obviously there’s a realisation that we need a big result but we believe we can do that,” said Lewis when asked if tomorrow night’s date with the

Swiss is “win or bust”.

“There’s definitely excitement, not apprehension. We know we can go second and that would bring a lot of momentum into the Bulgaria game which we believe we can win as well. We firmly believe we can come out of this international break with six points, which would put us in a great position for the November games. They would be like two finals for us.”

While the Swiss have lost just one of their last 15 games over 90 minutes, Lewis is confident Northern Ireland can upset the odds.

The 23-year-old, who is set to win his 24th cap, also took confidence from last month’s 0-0 draw with Murat Yakin’s men in Belfast. “The Swiss are highly ranked by FIFA for a reason and they play good football,” he said.

“They’re expected to have a couple more players back but I think last month’s performance gave us a lot of confidence.

“We got a good sample of what they’re like. They are a great team who move the ball really well but I think they lacked a little bit of penetration to break us down. We’ll base ourselves on being solid and hard to break down. That’s where we were last month and what we plan to be on Saturday.”