Masters snooker exclusive: I'm paying the price for being lazy says Robert Milkins
Robert Milkins has admitted he has been "lazy" so far this season and even feels like he's forgotten how to make breaks ahead of the Masters.
Milkins has enjoyed a glorious Indian summer in recent times, winning his first ever ranking event in Gibraltar in 2022 and then following that up with a memorable Welsh Open triumph last year.
But this campaign has been a disappointment so far for the Englishman. And Milkins, who is preparing to face Mark Selby at the Masters on Wednesday night, told Sporting Life: "My season has been poor to tell the truth.
"I haven't continued where I left off in the last part of last season. I've had a couple of decent wins in invitational events but I've had no runs in any tournament. I just haven't really got going at all. It almost feels like my season hasn't started.
"I probably haven't put enough time in to tell the truth. I've been a little bit lazy. That's my new year's resolution, to really knuckle down and try and change the season around. I'm not in a great frame of mind at the moment, I'm pretty low on confidence.
"I've always been better when I've needed to win matches. When I've been on the breadline I've gone into matches and played better. When I've got in the top 16 before, I've sort of become a bit lazy and rested on my laurels. And I've done it again.
"Some players, they go the other way don't they, they do well in a tournament and they kick on. I haven't done that, I've become a bit lazy and I'll be the first to admit it. It's got to the stage where I'm kicking myself a bit and I really need to start knuckling down."
Milkins keen to get back on track
Milkins, who lives in Gloucester, believes that part of his problem is how often he has to play on his own.
The 47-year-old says he does miss having regular practice partners and plans to start travelling further afield to address the issue.
"I don't have people to play with really." Milkins said. "I have got Jack (Lisowski), but he's away a lot of the time. If I was based in Sheffield or Leicester it would be easier going, playing against people all day long. You can play five or six hours easy. When you're on your own and there's nobody about it's very difficult.
"I've got too much time on my hands. It's very easy to sit down on your phone for half an hour. The discipline hasn't been great. It is tough. Sometimes you're just banging your head against the wall really. At the moment I feel like I'm struggling to knuckle down. I'm struggling to get motivated to play on my own.
"What I'm going to have to start doing is travelling around, maybe go an hour-and-a-half to Wales or something and maybe stay overnight and play a couple of different players.
"It's almost like I've forgotten how to make breaks, because I'm not playing anyone. The safety is good, I'm creating as many chances as anyone. It's just when I'm getting in the balls, I'm not scoring like the top players score. I know it's still there. I'm seeing the ball all right. But as I say, it's almost like I've forgotten how to make breaks.
"I am a realist. Players like Judd Trump and Mark Selby consistently do well every season. But with someone slightly lower ranked it's hard to keep going every year. I was speaking to Stuart Bingham about it recently, obviously he's done a lot more than me, he's won the worlds and all that. But he was just saying it's hard to maintain it, to keep doing well every season, to keep your ranking.
"You often find a lot of players ranked between about 10 and 30 have good seasons and then bad seasons. It's not been great this season, I must admit. I can't seem to get going in anything. I'm going to struggle to keep my seeding for the worlds. I need a run in something, I need something to happen pretty quick."
Milkins has never won a match at the Masters, being thrashed by Ronnie O'Sullivan at the 2014 tournament and then losing a tight match to Neil Robertson a year later.
The 50th edition of the event promises to be as spectacular as ever, with sell-out crowds for every match at Alexandra Palace. Milkins, who turned professional in 1995, admits such large audiences can be a mixed blessing.
"There's nothing better than being right in that zone and performing in front of all those people," he said. "But at the same time the problem with me - and this is what my counsellor told me to be honest - she said the problem with you is you care about what other people think too much. Whenever things aren't going right and I'm sat there, I'm thinking that the crowd is thinking you're a right pratt because you can't pot anything. But they're not thinking that and you've got to try and wipe away those thoughts. I am working on it.
"My head isn't as good as someone like Mark (Selby). You look at certain players, like Ronnie and Judd, they don't really care about what people think, if they're playing bad they've proved themselves so many times, it doesn't matter to them.
Selby the ultimate test at Ally Pally
"I still get it now, if things aren't going right, I'm still thinking what are people thinking in the arena, what are people thinking at home. It's not a good thing to have because then it builds up and gets even worse. But obviously there are times I feel really great out there. Hopefully I get off to a good start against Mark and I get into that zone. I've got more chance of doing that if I really put the hours in before Wednesday."
Selby is one of snooker's all-time greats, having claimed four world titles and three Masters crowns in his stellar career.
Milkins knows taking on the Leicester man offers up unique challenges, but says he's looking forward to the battle and shouldn't be underestimated himself on the tactics front.
"Mark is just a very very good all round player, one of the best," Milkins said. "To be fair, I like these kind of challenges. People have a false impression of my game. They think I'm the player I was years ago, very quick and all that. My game has changed a lot, tactically I feel like I'm up there. I'm just not scoring like I was. I've always had good games with Mark. some close games. You know you've got to play well against him.
"I like getting into those safety battles with Mark, it's a different side of the game. But Mark scores well as well. A lot of people think of Mark and think it's all safety and granite play, but they have the wrong impression of him, he scores really well. To be honest, I've going to have to try to match him to have any chance of beating him. It doesn't get much tougher than Mark but I'll look forward to it."