Last season was so bad I almost quit

. . but Bunting’s back and fired up

STEPHEN BUNTING was in such a dark place he went into hiding and locked himself in the house.

But the popular St Helens ace, who faces a tough task tonight in his World Championship opener against Belgian Dimitri van den Bergh, is back and flying having been dragged out of despair by the power of psychology.

Bunting, a BDO champion, slumped from a brilliant first year in the PDC to the pit of pain.

Confidence shot, self-esteem at an all-time low, he locked himself indoors and wanted to give the game up at just 32.

Fighting back tears, he recalled: “I was thinking about retiring, packing it all in and looking for a new job. That was about eight months ago when I played in Gibraltar around March.

“Confidence is a massive thing in any sport and as soon as you take a knock it’s hard to deal with. I’d been very successful in my time at the BDO. I used to win a lot, I wasn’t used to losing.

“I was sat at home feeling really depressed, I became reclusive. I didn’t want to go out, turn up to tournaments. It was really hard.

“Turning up to venues, I thought everyone was looking at me and laughing at me. That’s how bad it got. It was a dark place. I got lazy, didn’t really practise. That comes with the downward spiral.

“It’s sad to say, people don’t see what happens behind the scenes but now I’m back and it’s possibly the best thing that’s ever happened to see the down side of the sport.

“I went to a sports psychologist and that really helped me. I started looking at the positives of life again. Now I’m looking forward to going to tournaments again, playing well again and I’ll never let myself get back in that situation.

“I’m locking myself in the garage and putting the hours in. My form is better than ever.

“My family and management all want me to do well. It has really helped me and I’ve been able to knuckle down. It’s the best time to get my form back, going into the Ally Pally.” shirt that’s run in the wash.

“It has been a good week for the club as it looks like Mike Ashley’s finally going. That’s a great result for me already before I even take on Phil.

“Rafa Benitez has done a great job so far with the team he has. Now he needs money to keep us in the Premier League.”

Dobey is mentored by Scots star Gary Anderson and managed by Tommy Gilmour. He said: “I know there will be a lot of fuss around Phil.

“He has to deal with that as much as me. I’ve had a lot of people talking about the match but it’s more than just a match for me.

“It’s a huge opportunity for me to make a name for myself. But it’s just one match. I’ll only be satisfied if I can win the World Championships.

“Even a quarters or semi-finals place will be massive for my career. I used to put cones out on a motorway for a living. But the influence of Gary and Tommy has been massive.”