Phil Taylor has warned Luke Littler that talent won’t always beat hard work as the Nuke aims to kickstart his Premier League campaign in Belfast. The world champion has made an unusually slow start and sits sixth in the table ahead of night four in Northern Ireland on Thursday.

Last week, in Glasgow, Littler was thrashed 6-1 by Jonny Clayton in the semi-finals after receiving a bye following Michael van Gerwen’s withdrawal. While most observers were surprised by the margin of Clayton’s win, six-time Premier League champion Taylor saw it coming after Littler managed to squeeze in a quick break in Tenerife before the Glasgow night. Retired Taylor, who often works with Littler at exhibitions, told Express Sport: “Last week, he went to Tenerife.

“He was with me on the Sunday [at an exhibition], then went to Tenerife for two days, so that’ll knock you out. He obviously felt like he needed a break and a bit of sunshine.

“I said, ‘Are you not practising?’ He said, ‘Nah’. I said, ‘You’re mental, you are, I don’t know how you do it!’ Sometimes, if talent doesn’t work hard, hard work will beat talent. These [other] players will be practising. But he’ll be there or thereabouts [in the Premier League]. I’ve done that myself, had a slow start and ended up winning it.”

Littler bounced back impressively last weekend by winning the Poland Darts Open, beating Premier League rival Gian van Veen in the final. The Nuke’s horizontal approach to practice never ceases to amaze Taylor, who said: “He is phenomenal, I can’t say a bad word about him.

“And when he says he doesn’t practice, he really doesn’t. I was with him a couple of weeks ago at Chester. He sat there [before a match] and he never threw a dart. He then went out there and beat Luke Humphries 8-1!

“I could not do that. He’s better than me in that regard. If I was there for two hours beforehand, I’d be practising for two hours. But he’s capable of doing it, he’s brilliant.”

Meanwhile, Taylor wants to see the Premier League format changed ahead of next season. The current format sees a mini tournament take place each night, which often leads to repeat matches. For instance, Littler and Clayton will meet again in the Belfast quarter-finals.

Taylor said: “It’s too much. When me and Barney [Raymond van Barneveld] used to play each other, it was every few weeks; now it’s almost every week and it’s taking the shine off the big games.

“They’ll change it because there’s too many complaints. Barry [Hearn, PDC president] managed me for years, so I know how he works. He’ll listen to what people have got to say.”