BASEL coach Christian Gross revealed his huge relief that Kieron Dyer would not come back to haunt him at St Jakob Park.

Gross was told by Charlie Woods, now Newcastle United's chief scout, to sign Dyer from Ipswich Town when the pair worked together at Tottenham Hotspur.

Gross missed out on Dyer then and now, five years later, he reckons the England midfielder's absence from tonight's game with a hamstring injury boosts Basel's chances of progressing in the UEFA Cup.

He said: "When I was at Tottenham, Charlie Woods advised me to buy Kieron Dyer. But I didn't have any money and I also had Ruel Fox playing on the right-hand side.

"Unfortunately, I didn't work with Charlie for long before I got sacked, but he always gave me an excellent impression of Dyer."

Gross, renowned for being meticulous in his preparation for games, got a pleasant surprise yesterday when he found out Lee Bowyer would miss the tie.

Bowyer's UEFA suspension, imposed for stamping on an opponent while playing for Leeds United last season, expires after the second leg in three weeks' time. Gross said: "I didn't know Lee Bowyer was banned. The list I got from UEFA didn't mention it. Is he banned for six games?"

The Basel boss was last night still pondering whether to unleash Marco Streller, Swiss football's newest golden boy, on Newcastle.

Streller is the leading scorer in Switzerland this season with 11 goals, but Julio Hernan Rossi could start ahead of him after coming off the bench to hit the winner in Saturday's 2-1 win at Servette.

Hakin Yakin, who tormented Liverpool last season, will figure in a free role behind the forwards.