Gerard Greene heads to the Crucible for the fifth time in his career next week but faces another tough task to make the elusive second round of the World Snooker Championship.

Greene, from Rainham, has been knocked out in the first round stage on his previous four visits.

In 1999 he lost to John Higgins, then in 2003 he suffered a 10-3 defeat to Peter Ebdon before losing 10-9 to Steve Davis in 2005.

His latest foray into the pinnacle of snooker was in 2009 when he lost 10-9 to Ali Carter.

After qualifying once more, this year’s draw has paired him with 2005 champion Shaun Murphy.

Greene knows the game will be difficult but is up for the challenge.

He said: "Shaun is a fantastic player and if he is going well then he’s hard to beat. I just need to cut out my silly mistakes.

"I need to keep calm and try and force him into making mistakes rather than trying dodgy shots myself. I need to try and use my brain.

"If I play brilliant then I will win. I just need to force Shaun into making mistakes and when he does, I need to take advantage.

"It’s so hard because you know that one bad shot will be punished."

Greene’s match is one of the last first round matches. He starts at 7pm on Wednesday with the match resuming at 2pm the following day.