KEVIN PAINTER is aiming to keep alive his hopes of a Play-Off appearance in his debut McCoy's Premier League Darts season when he faces James Wade in Liverpool on Thursday.
The Cash Converters Players Championship Finals winner has enjoyed a solid campaign in his first Premier League, winning four games so far and sitting just three points away from a Play-Off place after 11 weeks.
Painter had defeated reigning champion Gary Anderson in Bournemouth a week ago, and takes on James Wade, Adrian Lewis and Andy Hamilton in his final three games of the regular season.
He faces Wade at the Echo Arena, Liverpool on Thursday night and knows that he must avoid defeat against the 2009 champion if he is to remain in the hunt for a semi-final berth.
"I'm a realist in that I'm a rank outsider to qualify for the Play-Offs," said Painter.
"I think I should have four more points than I have got because I've lost a couple of games that I feel I should have won, and that would have put me right in the mix.
"If I'd lost last week I'd have been out of the picture, but if I win my next three games I'll be on 14 points and even that might not be enough to get me in.
"In the Premier League you're playing against top-class players and if you miss you get punished. I've had a couple of games stuck right into me but there's a couple of games too which maybe went my way.
"I'm on eight points but I could have been on ten or 12, but I'll give my best in every game and I'll end up in the table where I deserve to be."
Painter has relished his chance to perform on the big stage this season, and he admitted that he is loving his first taste of the McCoy's Premier League.
"This is my first Premier League and before this the biggest crowd I'd played in front of was at Alexandra Palace, so all the crowds are big to me," he added.
"There are six other guys who've played in this before so they know what it's like, and it's fantastic playing in front of massive audiences. That's what we play darts for, whether you're in the Premier League or not.
"I might not be here next year or the year after so I'm enjoying every moment."
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