WAYNE MARDLE admits his basement battle with Phil Taylor in the Whyte & Mackay Premier League Darts at Bournemouth is 'a massive game'.
Defending champion Taylor has lost three of his opening four matches in this year's Premier League, having won 44 games without defeat in the tournament's first three years.
Mardle is the only player beneath Taylor in the Premier League table, having picked up just one point from the opening weeks, and the duo face off in a basement battle at the sold-out BIC on Thursday.
"It's a massive game for the pair of us," admits Mardle. "I need to win, and so does Phil.
"If he loses to me then I'm back in it, and if I lose to him it makes things a whole lot harder for me.
"I've got a terrible habit of starting badly in the Premier League, but I've given myself every opportunity to win nigh on all of my games and my doubles have been diabolical.
"If I hit my doubles against Phil I'll have a good chance."
Doubles have been Mardle's Achilles heel so far in the event, costing him chances to defeat John Part and Adrian Lewis in recent weeks, games he has lost 8-6.
The Romford star has revealed that he has been doing extra practice on his finishing in a bid to ensure a repeat of the clinical accuracy which took him to the Ladbrokes.com PDC World Darts Championship semi-finals at Christmas.
"I feel really comfortable on stage," he said. "If I have just one dart left to go for a double I seem to focus a bit more, when I have three I expect to hit it every time and I'm not doing that.
"I've got to be more aggressive when I have a chance at a double, it's as simple on that.
"I've probably done three or four hours in the last week just on double 18.
"I'm confident on it, but I'd rather leave tops [double 20] or double 16 and I'm not going to leave anything to chance.
"Double 18 is not the problem, but because I'm not a lover of double nine, I'm putting pressure on the double 18.
"I've just got to be more aggressive, I am aggressive scoring but go into my shell when it comes to the doubles, and hopefully I can put that right against Phil."
Mardle admits that Taylor's start, which has included defeats to James Wade, Terry Jenkins and Peter Manley, has been somewhat of a surprise.
"I expected him to get beaten this time around, there is no doubt about it that we're all a bit closer now, but I'm gobsmacked he's had the start he has had," he added.
"With Phil though, you know at some point he's going to go beserk again - he's just too good. Hopefully it's not against me!"
Mardle overcame Taylor in the quarter-finals at the World Championship, coming from 3-0 down to win 5-4 at Alexandra Palace and prevent the 13-time World Champion from reaching the final for the first time since 1993.
"It was the best win of my career," Mardle said. "He's beaten me so many times, in major finals in the World Matchplay and Las Vegas and the World Championship semi-finals.
"Every time I've been in major final he's stopped me winning things, and when someone has beaten you so many times on the big stage it gets to you.
"It wasn't the best I've ever played, by a long shot, but it was the win that was special.
"It meant the world to me and it still does, because not many people have beaten Phil in the World Championship, and I'm the only one in the PDC to have beaten him before the final."
Whyte & Mackay Premier League Darts
Week Five, BIC, Bournemouth
Adrian Lewis v Peter Manley
Phil Taylor v Wayne Mardle
James Wade v Raymond van Barneveld
John Part v Terry Jenkins
Live on Sky Sports One from 7.30pm on Thursday 28 February
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