Robert Milkins says he has ‘disrespected’ snooker this season (Image: Getty)
star Robert Milkins believes he has ‘disrespected’ the sport with his below-par performances this season. The experienced player has endured a tough year and brutally insists he needs to re-learn how to build a break.
Milkins says a lack of effort at the practice table is the reason behind his bad form. He has not been to the quarter-final at any event this season.
The 48-year-old described his approach as ‘lazy’ and concedes that he has not put enough time into preparing for tournaments. That has seen him drop to No. 85 in the one-year rankings. It was only a year ago that Milkins was a seeded player at the .
“My season’s been terrible. I’ve lost to a lot of lower-ranked players this year and you lose your confidence and belief,” Milkins told the .
“I’ve just been a bit lazy again, to be honest. Not putting enough time in. When you disrespect the game it can kick you.
“The one area I’m struggling with at the moment is making breaks. I’m looking at my 50-break rate in the last two years and it’s been disgusting, shocking really. The whole game, safety, knowledge, is always there now, but I need to remember how to make breaks.”
Milkins was seeded at the Crucible last year due to his spectacular win at the 2023 Welsh Open. He does not believe he remains at the same level as when he was victorious in Llandudno, or when he won the 2022 Gibraltar Open.
There remains time to turn his form around. Milkins will play at the German Masters next week and wants to start reaching the latter rounds of tournaments again.
Robert Milkins says he has not put enough effort into snooker practice (Image: Getty)
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“I know I’m safe to stay on tour and I just know that if I put the time in then next year will take care of itself,” he continued.
“I’m not saying I’ll do anything like when I won Gibraltar and the Welsh, I’m probably not at that level but who knows? It would be nice to start hitting quarter-finals and the business end of tournaments again.
“Every player knows his own ability. We can all play well, but I feel like my all-round game is very good. Not top level but 16-20 mark and really you shouldn’t be struggling to stay on tour.
“I’m just trying to win some first rounders, get into the tournament and see where we go from there. I don’t want to be under pressure to stay on tour next year, I don’t think I should be in that situation but it can happen.”