Snooker star Mark Allen in astonishingly brave confession over his fading belief – 'I just don’t know what to trust'

Mark Allen has admitted struggling for belief after slipping down snooker's world rankings.

The Northern Irishman, who is in Edinburgh for the Scottish Open, started the year as the world number one - but now sits fifth in the rankings, and sniped back at critics who blasted his slow play at the UK Championships earlier this month. But now he has admitted struggling for confidence - and says he is seeing things which are 'unnatural' on the table, as he attempts to win his first crown of the season at Meadowbank.

During the UK Championships, the Northern Irishman's feud with BBC pundit, and former world champion, Shaun Murphy escalated after a gruelling five-hour 6-5 semi-final midnight marathon defeat to Barry Hawkins, where his average shot time was an uncharacteristic 31.5 seconds in what became an extremely fragmented encounter. Following criticism from Murphy, a pundit on the BBC's coverage alongside Scottish great Stephen Hendry, Allen said that he could "understand why Shaun loses so many matches that he should win."

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Now speaking to SportsBoom in Edinburgh after victory against China's He Guoqiang, the Pistol has revealed the source of his frustration, saying: "I’m really struggling with myself if I’m honest. I’m trying so hard but it’s just not coming easy. I thought what I was trying wasn’t working so I just swapped it mid match. I tried to speed up a little bit and went for my shots. I finished that first match off well, but some of that was luck that I gave up the other thing that I’m working on.

“I just don’t know what to trust. I’m seeing things which are unnatural and I’m not trusting my cue action because I feel like I’m on the wrong line. I’m fed up of playing like that if I’m honest.”

The 38-year-old is leaving no stone unturned in his quest to rediscover his mojo and linked up with Mark Williams’ coach Lee Walker midway through his run to the final four at last month’s UK Championship, continuing: "What me and Lee are working on will do me good in the long run. But because I haven’t had long spells to work on it on the practice table, I was working on it mid tournament at the UKs, the Shoot Out comes and you don’t prepare properly there, it’s still really new.”

“It’s a process, I know that. I’m just a bit lost. It’s only a short time we’ve been doing it. That’s the one downside with these tournaments coming thick and fast, you don’t get the time to work on things. It’s great when you’re playing well and riding the crest of a wave, but not so much the other way.

“It’s my own fault for not doing better at the start of the season and being able to pick and choose a bit more.”