GARY ANDERSON vowed that he will “duck in the shadows” to go for World Championship glory.

The two-time champ was in vintage form on and off stage after breezing past old rival Simon Whitlock in his Ally Pally opener.

Anderson, 53, has got that glory glint in his eye again but he loves returning to the Palace and knows there’s a tough road ahead to the final on January 3.

He added: “You come up that hill and you see this building. If you don’t poo your pants, you shouldn’t be here.

“This is the Worlds, this is what every player dreams about. The boys who have been playing for 10 years plus, they want a shot on that stage.

“Over the years we’ve seen it, we’ve got more and more players on that stage. They will tell you, it’s something else.”

Anderson clearly wants to become the greatest-ever Scot with three world titles. He even tentatively mentioned going on to win up to six times on Sky Sports – but then laughed it off.

He added: “Six titles? That makes me 60-odd, nah you’ve got no chance. I’ve got myself my wee routine; the kids, got my fishing lakes and got my darts.

“Everything is in place. It’s taken a long time, two, three years and I’ve finally got it managed.

“If I get hassled with anything else, I reckon I’ll go back to how I was three years ago. I’m quite happy what I’m doing the now.

“To win three titles? It would cause a hassle. I’m not looking at that, every game at a time. It was hard enough just getting ready to play Simon.

“But he never turned up which made it even harder. We keep going and onto the next one. Don’t ask me who I play because I haven’t got a clue, I don’t even know what day, I know it’s after Christmas.

“You’ve got all these top shots and top guns with all the big averages. They can do what they do I’ll just duck in the shadows and see what happens. I’m still in the shadows whether they are talking about me.

“I’m playing well and hitting 108 averages upwards. If I can keep doing that I will take some beating. But I can turn up tomorrow and play absolutely terrible. It’s just one of these games.

“Can I win a third title? I don’t know, I’ve left my crystal ball at home. I can’t tell you that. I’d love to win a title and another one but we’ll see, it’s a long, long way to go and there’s too many good dart players about the now.

“Do I care if I win or lose? No. If I win great, if I lose fantastic I’ll go home. Either way it’s a win-win situation. I’ve got nothing to lose whatsoever.”