LYLE TAYLOR is set to swap a Premiership dogfight for the road to the World Cup in Russia after being handed a shock international call-up by Montserrat.

The Partick Thistle striker is eligible to play for the Caribbean nation thanks to his grandparentage, and will make his debut for the Emerald Boys against Curacao on March 27.

He will then visit Montserrat for the first time to play in the second leg at the 1,000 capacity Blakes Estate Stadium near the village of Look Out as the first qualification ties for the 2018 World Cup are settled.

In 2002, Montserrat became the worst international side in the world as they lost a match known as 'The other final' against Bhutan on the same day that Brazil beat Germany in the showpiece event in Yokohama.

The team, managed by George Dublin, are currently 172nd in the Fifa rankings - three places below their highest-ever berth of 169 on the world list.

The cap call came out of the blue for Taylor, but the Firhill forward is relishing the chance to earn international recognition as he looks to fire Montserrat to a rare win.

Taylor said: "I was on my way back from London and I was in the car with my dad. We were talking about playing for Montserrat and laughing and joking about it. I got on the train and got a friend request on Facebook and it came from there, so it was really coincidental.

"My grandparents are from Montserrat, so that is the tie. I have never been, so this will be the first time I have ever been over there. I am looking forward to it.

"My grandparents moved here in the late 1940s and my dad, who is the oldest of six, was born in London. It is interesting for me.

"I will be away for ten days, we have got two games against Curacao in World Cup prelim games so it will be good.

"We are away first and then at home a couple of days later. It is something different to what I have ever experienced before in football. It is a new place to go and new people to meet.

"I never really expected it, to be honest. I always thought I would be concentrating on my club football for the next few years.

"That has obviously changed now and it is a fulfilling feeling being offered the chance to play for the country of my grandparents' birth."

Before Taylor jets around the world to make his Montserrat bow, the striker has two huge games to play in the red and yellow of Thistle.

Alan Archibald's side are just four points clear of Ross County in the Premiership standings following their defeat in Dingwall last weekend.

And Taylor hopes the visit of St Johnstone tomorrow is the start of the Jags' recovery as they bid to move away from the top-flight relegation zone as quickly as possible.

He said: "We have a target we have spoken about in-house, and we will be doing our very best to reach that target and then go from there.

"A win tomorrow would be a big step in the right direction for us. With hard work and a little bit of luck, hopefully we can get a good result and we will be able to kick on from there until the end of the season."