Old dog Barney ready for a scrap with young pup

Raymond's confident he can scupper Littler's bid for No.1

- BY CRAIG SWAN

OLD dog Raymond van Barneveld reckons he can muzzle young pup Luke Littler's world No.1 bid.

And the Dutch star has issued a warning to The Nuke over making tasty statements ahead of another potentially feisty night in Germany.

World champion Littler can overtake Luke Humphries and hit top spot in the rankings for the first time but Barney can ruin that plan when he faces the teenager in tonight's first-round cracker at the European Championship and the veteran isn’t frightened by the challenge.

He said: “I'm not scared of him. I know he’s an amazing player. I'm just going to go prepare myself like any other game and see what happens. It doesn't matter who I play, there's always a chance. you can beat them. I believe that.

“But I'm not the youngest any more. I'm 58. I'm playing against an 18-year-old with full energy.

“I'm like an old dog. A younger dog wants to play, they're exciting, But an older dog is like, ‘Guys, leave me alone’.