Wednesday 5 February 2014 12:02, UK
Three weeks in a mountain retreat in Portugal, a juice-only celebrity diet and a completely new set of equipment...
In another career-changing move, Taylor ended his long-standing relationship with Unicorn Darts and signed a lucrative seven-figure deal with Target Darts, who will design his equipment for the next five years. It's the biggest sponsorship deal in darts history and Taylor says he is excited about working with the company's managing director Garry Plummer to create brand new darts to his own specifications. And he hopes the attention to detail in his arrows, as well as his health, will help him to take back the world No 1 spot from new world champion Michael van Gerwen. He said: "My contract had run out with Unicorn and I was approached. It's a bit like with a mobile phone, when your contract runs out everyone seems to know about it and I was approached by a few different companies. "The one thing I liked about Garry was I like him as a person. It's not all about money - obviously money is a bonus - but he's one of those people where we just hit it off as if I'd known him all my life. It's like we're really good friends as well as business people. "We've done a completely different dart. Even though the shape is very similar, the grip is completely different. Nobody has ever invented this grip before and I really, really love it. "You need confidence in your equipment. Darts is not all about standing up there and simply throwing darts. You need everything to be right in your preparation. You've got to have the right shoes on. If your trousers aren't fitting right then obviously you're not going to play as well. "It's about having the right equipment and the right people with you. It really has gone that professional, for me personally anyway. I am going to step up another level now and be like Floyd Mayweather would be. "It's a calculated gamble. Everything in your life is a gamble and you can't say you're going to win anything with whatever equipment you play with because age is catching up with me and what-not. "Target are an up-and-coming company that people love. It's great for me to be involved with them." Taylor plays Van Gerwen in Thursday night's headline match in Liverpool, live on Sky Sports, and is aware that all eyes will be on how he performs. And while he admits he has had little time to prepare with his new tools he is convinced his approach will soon pay dividends. "I've not had the darts long. About three or four days," he said. "It doesn't bother me. I might be straight up and running or it might take me three or four attempts. I'm not worried about it to be honest with you. I've changed my darts loads of times. I don't really worry about it. "People are apprehensive now to see what happens. It's like Manchester United - what are they going to do next season? You've got to get yourself back up again. You've got to dust yourself off and do something about it. "You can't feel sorry for yourself because no-one will feel sorry for you."
