WES NEWTON admits that Thursday's McCoy's Premier League Darts clash with world number two Adrian Lewis will be crucial in their bid to avoid elimination from the tournament.
The pair currently occupy the bottom two places in the Premier League table following three games, with Newton claiming his first point last week in Bournemouth while Lewis is the only player to have lost all three matches so far this season.
With the bottom two players following nine weeks being eliminated, Thursday's clash between the basement pair at Exeter's Westpoint Arena has added significance.
Newton bounced back from his losses to James Wade and Raymond van Barneveld by hitting three ton-plus finishes in a six-all draw with Robert Thornton last week, although he led 6-3 before the Scot hit back to deny him the win.
The Fleetwood star, though, enters his clash with Lewis in confident mood as he bids to take a huge step towards Premier League survival.
"It's a massive game for both of us because neither of us want to be where we are in the table and whoever loses is going to be in a really bad position," admitted Newton.
"I'm happy with how I came through last week and I played a lot better than I did in the first couple of weeks, so I know my form's coming back.
"My finishing probably cost me in the opening games, definitely in the first week, but I finished a lot better last week and took out some big finishes when I needed to. I think I did everything right last week apart from get the win.
"From 6-3 up I probably started thinking about getting my first win, which I shouldn't have done, but it's all experience and I've got to take the positives out of it.
"I'm off and running and hopefully I'm taking the right strides to where I want to be and that I can get my first win this week."
Thursday's McCoy's Premier League Darts is set to be another sell-out at Exeter's Westpoint Arena, with only a small number of tickets remaining. Tickets can be purchased by calling 08444 99 99 55 or visiting www.westpointarena.co.uk.
McCoy's Premier League Darts
Week Four
February 28 - Westpoint Arena, Exeter
Robert Thornton v Gary Anderson
Andy Hamilton v Michael van Gerwen
James Wade v Phil Taylor
Wes Newton v Adrian Lewis
Raymond van Barneveld v Simon Whitlock