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Lloyd faces Roland Scholten and Raymond Van Barneveld as the Holsten Premier League roadshow rolls into Newport on Thursday.

“I am looking for a minimum of three points,” he said. “If I am really firing, I believe I can take maximum points!”

The Unicorn star has endured a difficult three months, with a loss of form and confidence, since he suffered the shattering blow of losing in the 1st Round of the World Championships to qualifier Gary Welding.

“It has been tough,” he admitted. “But I feel I am getting back to my best and that is great news for me and bad news for everyone else.”

Lloyd clawed his way back into contention in Carlisle last week – beating Ronnie Baxter 8-4 and averaging nearly 100. “That was the best I have played for a while,” he revealed.

There is no doubt he has been suffering from the darting demons over recent weeks. Mentally, he has been struggling with his game and clearly confidence dipped. Despite winning the Irish Masters in February, when he hit a 9-darter to beat Dennis Priestley in the final, it seemed that sometimes, Lloyd had fallen out of love with the sport.

“When you are struggling for form, it can put you on a downer,” he revealed. “Some of my darts have been ordinary to say the least. I think people are quick to criticise sometimes. They forget that over the last 18 months, I have won the World Grand Prix, the World Matchplay and 14 other tournaments around the world.”

“Things are coming good again. I have had a bad patch…that’s all. After I lost to Peter Manley in Wolverhampton, I blew a gasket! It was probably the best thing I could have done, because there is a smile back on my face. I had hit rock bottom and looking back, blowing up like that has done me the world of good!”

Lloyd kicks-off proceedings in Wales against one of his best friends in darts. “Roland and I are big mates,” he explained. He is great company and a great player. He stays at my house when he is playing over here and returns the compliment when I am in Holland or Belgium. I stayed with him just last weekend.”

But friendship will go out of the window in Newport. “I just want to be ruthless! I will wish him good luck, smile and shake his hand, then I will want to rip his head off!”

In last year’s Premier League, Lloyd completed the double over Scholten, winning 8-4 and 7-5.

‘Jaws’ will be hoping to bite Barney for the first time! He has never beaten the four-times World Champion. “I lost to him in the Dutch Open, the Masters of Darts and in the last 16 of the North West UK Regional a couple of weeks ago, so this would be the perfect time to break my duck!”

Lloyd added: “To be fair, Raymond has been brilliant since he switched over. He is a good guy and a great player. He will be a terrific asset to the PDC.”

Meanwhile, Unicorn’s World No.1 has called on the powers-that-be to go large in 2007!
The Premier League has been a phenomenal success and Lloyd believes that bigger venues are the answer.

He said: “There are big crowds and sold-out signs wherever we go, so why not go for the big arena type venues. I am sure we would attract crowds of 4,000 to 5,000. For a one-off night, to see the best darts players in the world, the fans have already proved they will come and watch – just look at Bournemouth!”

Elsewhere on Thursday, Peter Manley faces another massive test against Unicorn stablemate Phil Taylor. On home soil in Carlisle, Manley was thrashed 8-1 by ‘The Power’ and 8-3 by Barneveld. He cannot afford another heavy defeat and ‘One Dart’ knows that if he loses and Wayne Mardle beats Ronnie Baxter, he will find himself at the bottom of the Premier League table.

Taylor is already assured of his place on finals day in Plymouth but he remains determined to retain his Premier League title, without losing a single game. It is difficult to see Manley upsetting the odds in Newport.

As always, make sure you log on to the Unicorn website for all the news and views from Newport.

By Stuart Pyke

Order of Play

Roland Scholten v Colin Lloyd
Ronnie Baxter v Wayne Mardle
Peter Manley v Phil Taylor
Raymond Van Barneveld v Colin Lloyd