Ronnie O’Sullivan is unconcerned by questions over his self belief, saying he is only playing snooker for his own enjoyment, and not for titles or money.
The Rocket has gone 15 months since his last title, a long time for the most successful player in history, losing five finals since his last success at the 2020 World Championship.
Asked why he felt O’Sullivan was going through something of a trophy drought, Trump said: ‘I just think he’s lost a little bit of the belief. When you don’t win you don’t have the same belief, people aren’t scared to beat you.
‘He’s still getting to finals, he’s always going to breeze through the first few games because he’s so good. But when he comes up against a top 16 player there’s just not that gulf in class anymore, I don’t think.
‘No one is that scared to play him, on their day anyone’s game is good enough to beat him and that’s what’s happened to him over the last year.’
O’Sullivan was asked about these remarks ahead of his Champion of Champions campaign this week, embarking on a driving metaphor which will hopefully see him steer his way towards more titles.
‘I don’t really pay much attention to what anyone says on the circuit, whether that’s journalists, players, officials,’ O’Sullivan told ITV.
‘I get in my car, I drive it in the direction I need to go in. Obviously you might get lost now and again, but eventually you get back on the right road.
‘But who knows, you just don’t know what’s round the corner.
‘I was world champion maybe 15 months ago so hopefully there’s more titles in there, if there’s not and the well’s run dry, we’ll just keep plugging away and just keep putting smiley faces at the end of each week and each tournament. At some point that has to be the goal really.’
O’Sullivan now seems to be using a ‘smiley face’ mantra, saying he rates tournaments with either a smiley or miserable face at the end of them, and if he can keep chalking up more smiley expression than downbeat ones, then he’s happy.
‘Four or five years now, virtually every tournament there’s been a smiley face,’ he continued. ‘Wins, losses, the most important thing is smiley faces.
‘I’m not playing this game for titles anymore, or the financial rewards it’s got to offer, I’m here because I want to be here.
‘If you can say that at 46 that’s quite a good position to be in. Most players, like [Stephen] Hendry or [Steve] Davis, they didn’t feel like that towards the latter stages of their career.
‘At some point you have to define success in your own way.’
O’Sullivan gets his Champion of Champions campaign underway on Thursday against Stuart Bingham.
MORE : Mark Williams waxes lyrical about John Higgins, Ronnie O’Sullivan and Champion of Champions opponent Neil Robertson
MORE : Judd Trump: Ronnie O’Sullivan has lost belief and no one is scared to play him
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