Mervyn King has his sights firmly set on

Mervyn King has his sights firmly set on a place in the top six in the world and the Premier League - starting with a good performance in his second World Grand Prix appearance in Dublin.

King has risen into the top 16 in the Order of Merit for the first time since his switch to the PDC 18 months ago, but he has much more lofty ambitions.

'The King' wants to move up another ten places and thereby qualify for the Premier League, shown live on Sky Sports - and now seen as the pinnacle of professional darts.

"I've just gone into the top 16, but I'm looking to try and get into the top six by the end of the year so I can get into the Premier League," King told skysports.com.

"It's a realistic goal for me but its not going to be an easy one with the players and the better performers I've got to beat and got to overtake, but that is my goal."

Rise

"I've got into the top 16 within 18 months so my next goal is to be in the top ten but by the end of the year I'm really hoping to be in the top six, but there's a lot of hard work to do between now and then.

"It's not just the venues of the Premier League, if you're playing in the Premier League and you're playing 14 weeks and every week you're playing the standard of players you play against then its got be good for your game.

"It's got to bring your own performance on so if you re playing the best you're going to become the best so it's good for you that way as well as financially."

First up for King is a return to Dublin and the CityWest Hotel with its own uniqueness in both the venue and the tournament structure.

The venue is one of the smaller and more intimate of those staging major events, while the double-in format means upsets are always on the cards.

Unique

"It was my first year last year I lost to Raymond van Barneveld in the second round," King recalls.

"It's a bit different with the double-in, I haven't played that since local league when I started playing probably 30 years ago around the Ipswich area around where I grew up, from what I can remember, so it's a bit of a shock to the system.

"You've got to get the double before you can start, so if it takes you six darts just to start then you're going to be struggling.

"Its very good, it's a hard venue because the spectators are so close to the stage it's very hot and it's very noisy but the actual venue itself is very good.

"They can move it up to what size the want with the partitions but as a venues go it's very good.

"It is small compared to the likes of the Ally Pally but it's more personal and the atmosphere seems to be better because with a big venue you can sometimes lose the atmosphere."

King admits his form has been patchy at times, but he has stepped up to the plate in terms of added practice and feels the benefits will soon be there for all to see.

"I'm not playing too bad, it's a bit up and down at the moment - some days I can't miss and other days I cant hit a thing - but it's tending to even itself out a bit more now.

"I'm playing a lot more consistently and I think it's the amount of practice I've put in over the last 18 months. I've upped my practice and I'm working hard at it and I think it's now paying dividends."

Colin Lloyd was talking at the RAC Everyman Track Day at Rockingham Motor Speedway. For more information on RAC's link-up with Everyman log on to teamrac.co.uk

By Paul Higham Last updated: 25th September 2008 (Source link)