PHIL TAYLOR insists that he will continue to experiment with changes to his darts as he bids to retain the McCoy's Premier League Darts title.
The World Champion has secured his place in next week's Play-Offs at The O2 in London with four wins and a draw from his last five games.
However, Taylor has lost four league games this season for the first time since the tournament was introduced back in 2005, and has tried both some subtle changes to the darts he has used since 2008 as well as - albeit briefly - a new design of barrel during the campaign.
Taylor has most recently returned to using his Unicorn 'Phase Five' darts but with different stems, and admits that his tinkering comes in a bid to claim a seventh Premier League title and maintain his status as the sport's number one player.
"I'm always trying to improve," said Taylor. "I made improvements again [last week] by changing my stems, and that's improved my game.
"I do change a lot but I try different things weekly and nine out of ten don't work - but this one is working.
"I experiment and it's about trying to improve and get better, like a motor racing team or a footballer would. You've got to get everything right, even as far as having the right shoes.
"It's like a photographer, and if another new lens comes out he'll go out and get that - that's what you do."You've got to push forward and keep trying to improve."
Taylor defeated Michael van Gerwen to win his 16th World Championship title on New Year's Day, but the Dutchman has since dominated the PDC ProTour with six event wins in his rise to second on the PDC Order of Merit.
Van Gerwen is also in line to become the first player other than Taylor in Premier League history to top the league table going into the Play-Offs - and the reigning champion is hoping that he can meet the youngster at The O2 next Thursday.
"I'd love to play Michael in the final because it would be a great battle," said Taylor. "He's been inspiring me with how well he's done in the last six months and I'm enjoying the challenge.
"I've had challenges for the past 20 years or so with people like Dennis Priestley, John Part and Barney, and Michael's the latest player who's come through and he's doing brilliantly.
"Everyone's been talking about him this season and he deserves to be top of the table, but they might be talking about me again after the Play-Offs!
"I love the challenge and I respect anybody like Michael who's come through, done his apprenticeship and is playing at the top level. Guys like Michael and Raymond are inspiring me to get back to top form and to win this title again."
A small number of tickets for Thursday's McCoy's Premier League Darts at the Metro Radio Arena in Newcastle are still available by calling 0844 493 6666 or by visiting www.metroradioarena.co.uk.
The McCoy's Premier League Darts will be screened live on Sky Sports 3HD from 7pm on Thursday, as well as live on RTL7 in the Netherlands, Sport1 in Germany, OSN across the Middle East, Fox Sports in Australia and through www.LIVEPDC.TV.
McCoy's Premier League Darts
Week 14
May 9 - Metro Radio Arena, Newcastle
Andy Hamilton v Adrian Lewis
Robert Thornton v Raymond van Barneveld
Adrian Lewis v Simon Whitlock
Phil Taylor v James Wade
Michael van Gerwen v Robert Thornton
Simon Whitlock v Raymond van Barneveld