Ray Lewington chasing perfect England campaign

Former Watford and Fulham boss Lewington says he still finds it strange working in the international game when pre-season comes around, after nearly 40 years in the game as a player and coach.

But despite having no training or warm-up games to prepare a club squad for, both Lewington and Three Lions boss Roy Hodgson will be taking in plenty of games before the first international meet-up at the end of the month.

And with a trip to San Marino up first on Saturday 5 September before Switzerland visit Wembley three days later, England could secure their place in next summer’s Euro Finals with a win in Sarravalle.

"There’s only three or four games of the season and then we join up," said Lewington.

"We’ve got San Marino over there first, but it’s all about performances for us now.

"We’ve just got to make sure we qualify, we think we have [done enough to qualify], so it’s just about getting the performances right now and concentrating on the details.

“We know that we’re close to securing qualification, but we won’t let focus slip and that’s what we’ll be working on when we meet up next for San Marino and Switzerland."

So far England have won all six of their Euro Qualifiers and with just four games remaining, Lewington admits the idea is to finish with a flourish and a perfect record to take to France next summer.

Ray Lewington says him and Roy Hodgson are looking forward to the new season

But he knows that will not be easy, with second-placed Switzerland due at Wembley on Tuesday 8 September and being more than capable of getting a result.

"We’d like to [finish with a 100 per cent record], and there’s no reason why we should lose any game if we do things right," Lewington told TheFA.com.

"We’re capable of doing that, as we’ve beaten everyone so far in the group, but you know what this game is like and if you’re 10 per cent below par, any side is capable of causing a shock and beating you.

"Particularly, the Switzerland game at home will be tricky but I think we’ll be ready and it will be great if we get through with a 100 per cent record."

Tickets for the game at Wembley with Switzerland on Tuesday 8 September are on sale now. Click here for more details on how to make sure you’re there.