JONNY CLAYTON has been playing through the grief of losing his father and admits he will take to the Ally Pally stage "with a heavy heart".
The Ferret has not won a major title on the PDC treadmill for two years and concedes he may need to invoke his "chopsy" persona to fight his way out of the slump.
The sudden death of his 80-yearold dad John - his biggest fan in July left him devastated.
Former plasterer Clayton, who turns 50 next October, begins his campaign at the PDC World Championship on Saturday night.
And he said: "Whether I do it in an untidy way or a pretty way, I'm still trying to win games of darts...
but I'm just not the same person.
This story is from the December 21, 2023 edition of Daily Record.
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This story is from the December 21, 2023 edition of Daily Record.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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