LIKE Daniel before he entered the lion's den, El-Hadji Diouf is not sure what to expect when he runs out at the Naftex Stadium in Burgas.

Nor can he guarantee how he will react if things do not go his way on the pitch.

All he can promise is that he will do everything in his power to help Wanderers finish off the job they started at the Reebok a fortnight ago and secure a place in the group stages of the UEFA Cup.

Whatever lies in store - and he knows there is every chance he will be a target for intimidation both on and off the field - there will be no holding back.

Diouf is doing what he can to clean up his image, which was indelibly tarnished when he spat in the face of Portsmouth defender Arjen De Zeeuw last season.

But he admits he would struggle to tame the wild side of his nature, even if he wanted to.

"If you were to take certain things out of my game, you would not still have the same El-Hadji Diouf as a footballer," said the Senegal striker.

"It is, maybe, a little bit under control but, if you take away the desire and the absolute will to win, you would take away the strength of the player.

"I'm just a bad loser. I hate to lose and I can lose my head a little bit sometimes when the team's not doing well.

"But what happened last year only serves as a lesson from which to learn for the future."

Diouf would like to think that, if he is singled out for special treatment, it will be by Plovdiv defenders who respect him for what he did in the first leg, when his diving header cancelled out Boban Janchevski's first half goal and inspired a fighting finish which reached a climax with Jared Borgetti netting an injury time winner to earn Wanderers a 2-1 advantage.

What he does not relish is a repeat of the events in Bulgaria last month, when Liverpool striker Djibril Cisse was subjected to racist taunts by CSKA Sofia supporters.

Cisse at least had the satisfaction of dumping the Bulgarian champions out of the Champions League, but Diouf sympathised with his former Liverpool team-mate.

"It was bad news," he said, "something that touched me, because Djibril is a good friend of mine.

"We're both black guys and this is something that happens to us from time to time.

"But all I'll be thinking about tomorrow is making sure we qualify for the next round.

"This is a big, big occasion for us and the main thing is to go there with a positive attitude.

"We believe in ourselves and we hope to go further in the competition.

"The tie is still very tight but the goal Borgetti scored for us was tremendously important.

"Going there 2-1 up is much better than 1-1 or even behind. We just have to make sure we don't concede. Anything more than that will be a bonus."

Sam Allardyce felt the need to give Diouf a wake-up call last week when he rested him on the bench for the Portsmouth game. But the player is not unduly concerned about his form.

"A player has lots of ups and downs and I have been a little tired lately," he said.

"My legs have been tired after games and my muscles have been sore. I had three matches for Senegal in the summer and didn't get a holiday.

"I'm only a human being, after all. The manager is always going to rotate the squad to keep everyone fit and on top form.

"Tal Ben Haim, Bruno N'Gotty, Nakata and Jay Jay Okocha will all take their turns as the season progresses

"We all need a rest from time to time."