No-one has a gun to their head and I could lose to Mickey Mouse: Rob Cross on the dangers of darting burnout
Honest Rob Cross admits burnout could see him to lose to Mickey Mouse.
But the World No.4 will maintain his own path as he aims to build on Dutch Darts Masters glory.
Cross won a fifth World Series title in Den Bosch after finally shaking off the rust from almost a month off.
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The Londoner confesses he’s not a normal player in the fact he can shut-off from the game.
It leaves him short of practice and that was shown in a poor display in Bahrain last week, but Cross says it has to be that way having suffered in the wake of his 2018 World title win by doing too much.
He explained: “I suppose I’m not like your normal dart player. They can infuse themselves with darts all year round, 300 and whatever days a year and I’m not like that. If I get time off, I have separation from it.
“But if I’ve not put a lot in, then can you really go out and expect to achieve great things? Sometimes I have to play myself in to get myself to win.
“There’s a lot on their calendar, I can’t dispute that, but at the same time, you’ve got to learn how to man-manage yourself.
“For the early ones coming in, if they do greatness straight away, a bit like me first year, it’s a harsh learning curve. You might not get it right for a year or two, but you will get it right if you keep trying. There’s nothing but the end of it, feeling burnt out and stuff. You never play well.
“I’ve got a great team around me. They say, maybe not do this one, or whatever. I might feel fine, but if I’m stubborn and I go, three weeks later I might be the opposite and then all of a sudden I might miss two weeks.
“Sometimes I’m not always at my best, but, look, no-one’s got a gun to their head. It’s not a matter of life or death, so you’ve got to go out there and just enjoy it, embrace it.
“I’m 34 years old and I feel like one of the old people in the game. You’ll go through motions where you’re playing really well and then you go through motions where you could lose anything.
“I can beat the best players in the world, but I can also lose to Mickey Mouse tomorrow morning. It’s not a problem for me. You man-manage your schedule. That’s what you have to do. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve burnt myself out before, but it’s no-one else’s fault, it’s my own fault.
“Anything on TV, I love the lights. I’m probably a bit guilty sometimes, Pro Tours where it’s indoors and stuff, it’s a bit harder to get up for. But every TV tournament, I want to go in there, I want to win. That’s where I want to be.”
