Josh Rock admits he needs something to get him angry after he was branded “too nice” in this year’s Premier League.
Rock is sitting bottom of the table after failing to register a victory in the first six weeks of the competition ahead of this Thursday’s trip to Dublin, live on Sky Sports.
Fellow Northern Irishman Daryl Gurney has urged Rock to adopt a tougher mindset against his Premier League rivals.
“Sometimes Josh is just too nice,” Gurney told Tungsten Tales. “He needs to get into his own zone and think, ‘everyone’s here to beat me’, not the other way around.”
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Rock hit a nine-darter during his quarter-final game against Gian van Veen on Night Four of the Premier League in Belfast
When asked about Gurney’s comments, Rock said: “Yes, I could do [channel my anger], but I need something to get me angry. I can’t just put it on.
“There are times there’s been matches I’ve been involved in when I’ve put the angry head on because something’s annoyed me during a game or whatever and I’ve been untouchable.
“But something like that has to happen for me to get me going.
“I just go up there and believe my ability is better than theirs on the night.
“Obviously, it’s not going to plan just at the minute, but that will change.”
Rock is performing well in other tournaments, reaching the UK Open semi-finals for the second year in a row, and insists he fully deserves his place in the Premier League.
“Obviously I haven’t got off to the greatest start in the Premier League, but I’m starting to enjoy being in the league, I deserve to be there, I put all the hard work in last year,” added the 24-year-old.
“It’s my first cap in the Premier League so it probably just needs a bit of getting used to.
“I moved house on February 3 and I’ve only been home 11 days, so there’s a lot of travelling, I don’t know if you can put it down to that.
“But I’m still enjoying the Premier League games even though I’m getting beat.”
What’s happening on Premier League Night Seven in Dublin?
Night Seven of the darting roadshow will take place at Dublin’s 3Arena, as Dutch duo Gian van Veen and Michael van Gerwen collide in the evening’s opener.
Stephen Bunting takes on Luke Littler, Rock goes up against Gerwyn Price for the first time in this year’s Premier League, while table-topper Jonny Clayton meets reigning champion Luke Humphries in a repeat of last Thursday’s final.
Who will win this year’s Premier League Darts? Luke Humphries is defending his title and you can watch the action every single Thursday until May on Sky Sports. Stream darts and more top sport with NOW.
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