Pillow will help me be better than the rest
PETER WRIGHT is hoping hi-tech pillows and new mattress can help his oche dreams come true.
Snakebite faces a big week in the Unibet Premier League against Daryl Gurney tonight then defending his Coral UK Open title.
But the world No.2 reckons his bids have been boosted by beds. Wright said: “I’ve felt like an old man getting out of bed. I’ve been struggling out of bed for a while now, waking up stiff and aching all over.
“I don’t think it helps I mainly spend my life on the road and in different hotels. The standard of hotel beds are terrible, really hard or even too spongey.
“Some of the pillows in Holland are huge but your head doesn’t even sit on them properly. Phil Taylor used to take his pillow away with him.
“It sounds daft but it’s really important for a darts player to sleep comfortably. Any slight twinge or ache to the back, neck or arm can hugely affect the way you play.
“But it’s been solved by a firm who gave me a special orthopaedic mattress to try and I feel like a new man.
“I’ve been given hi-tech new pillows that are antisnoring. The pillow vibrates when you start to snore and makes your head move so you stop making a noise.
“Now we’ve just got to figure out how to get the mattress and pillows abroad when I’m playing in different countries!”
Wright takes on Gurney in Exeter after an inconsistent start to his Premier League campaign but has only lost once to Rob Cross. He believes weight loss, after a pre-Christmas gallstone scare, has affected his game.
He added: “I’ve lost a lot of weight but when it’s off your arms that affects how you throw. Even the slightest change can alter your throw by millimetres.
“But I’m getting used to it and my set-up. I threw quicker last week and it was better. I probably let Gary off the hook at 6-3 in front but that’s the way it goes sometimes.
“It was very emotional the last time I was on the Minehead stage in the UK Open, it was important to me to win my first major.
“A lot of other players have done exhibitions at the weekend. I decided to rest. I want to be recharged to retain the UK Open.”