RAYMOND VAN BARNEVELD admits he has regained his self-belief in the Whyte & Mackay Premier League Darts run-in.
The Dutchman faced the prospect of dropping out of the top four when a mid-season blip saw him suffer three defeats in four games.He got back to winning ways against Adrian Lewis at Wembley a fortnight ago before completing a Premier League double over James Wade last week.
The five-time World Champion and current PDC world number one admitted that a pep talk from PDC Chairman Barry Hearn helped inspire his return to form, and he is in confident mood ahead of a clash with Terry Jenkins in Newcastle on Thursday.
"You can only smile if you are enjoying the sport," he revealed. "The passion is very important and if you don't have that you won't win big titles.
"Barry Hearn reminded me that I'm still number one in the world and I've beaten Phil Taylor in a World Championship final and I looked in the mirror and reminded myself of that.
"I look in the mirror every day now and believe I can win this Premier League.
"I changed my darts back the old ceramic darts, and I've gone back to bigger flights. I had a nine-darter in an exhibition in Holland recently and my confidence is growing again.
"I struggled for four or five weeks and lost a bit of confidence but I'm very happy now. The last two weeks have been excellent for me and I'm believing in myself again."
Van Barneveld admits that the pressure of topping the PDC Order of Merit has also been a new experience.
"If you're in the number one spot, everyone is focusing on you," he added. "Everyone puts dedication in and a lot of work and practice before they play you.
"Somedays you get lazy and then they come along and beat you, and you have to go back to the practice board.
"I've done that, the hunger is back and I believe in myself.
"My Grandma always said that if you believe in yourself you can achieve everything you want in life."
Click here to read Rod Harrington's Whyte & Mackay Premier League Darts Preview
Whyte & Mackay Premier League Darts
Night 14, Metro Radio Arena, Newcastle
James Wade v John Part
Raymond van Barneveld v Terry Jenkins
Adrian Lewis v Wayne Mardle
Phil Taylor v Peter Manley
Live on Sky Sports One from 7.30pm
Follow the action live in DartsTV, with Live Audio Commentary for subscribers and a Free Live Scoreboard, along with Highlights available from Friday evening
Click here to purchase the official 2008 Whyte & Mackay Premier League Darts programme