BRADFORD darts ace Joe Cullen admits his long-term lack of form is "alien" to him, but he has warned his upcoming opponents to be wary of taking him lightly.
An opening round defeat to Raymond van Barneveld at the Swiss Darts Trophy was swiftly followed by early exits at the three Players Championship events in Wigan in the middle of last week.
Cullen's first-round opponent at the prestigious World Grand Prix tomorrow is popular Geordie Chris Dobey, who is playing superbly this season, but the Wyke native did not sound like a beaten man already when speaking to the T&A.
He said: “My lack of form is a bit alien to me at the minute, because I’ve lost form before, like everyone can, but It’s not lasted as long as it has this time.
“But I’m 100 per cent confident I can come out the other side of this and hopefully it will be the making of me this year, having had setbacks throughout the last few months."
The big ranking majors come thick and fast now, with the World Grand Prix in Leicester swiftly followed by the European Championship, the Grand Slam of Darts, the Players Championship Finals and the World Championship.
Asked what would represent success for him in the next few months, Cullen said: “For me personally, initially, I just want to feel comfortable with my game again, regardless of results.
“Over the last two or three months, I’ve not been comfortable with my technique and stuff like that, but it's also the mentality, because for me the mental side of darts is the biggest part of it.
“It’s been a test for me, but I know I can still do some damage and if players are looking at my form and thinking they’ve got a favourable draw, I want that.
“I know it won’t be this s**t for me forever, it will turn, so it’s just a matter of persevering and believing.”
And it is not just that positive outlook that fills Cullen with confidence heading into tomorrow's clash with Dobey.
He said: “Normally, I’d say Chris' good form would help him, but I do think it’s a little irrelevant because of the format of the World Grand Prix.
“Chris is one of my best friends on the Tour, I spend a lot of time with him, so I know full well that the main part of his game is scoring.
“He’s a massive scorer, and if this was a ‘normal’ tournament, like the World Matchplay, he’d definitely be going into our game as the favourite, and rightly so.
“But the double start format is a massive leveller, especially with the opening game only being the first to two sets.
The natural start to a leg for a darts player is to aim for the treble 20, so having to kick things off with a double must take some adjusting to.
Asked if he found the Grand Prix format gimmicky or exciting, Cullen said: “It’s a bit of both, but it is nice to mix it up.
“It’s a massive leveller like I said, and there have been so many surprise finalists and even winners because of that.
“I think one of the most famous examples of what the double start can do was when Andy Callaby beat Phil Taylor in the first round of this tournament.
“No-one had ever heard of Andy before that game (in 2004), and no-one’s really heard about him since, but he’ll always be remembered for that game.
“That’s what the uniqueness of this tournament, and the cutthroat nature of this format, can produce.”
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