I walk on to a Rangers anthem and I’ve been called the hottest prospect in darts – but I’m inspired by Celtic-daft star

RANGERS-daft Josh Rock has revealed he's inspired by Conor McGregor and Gary Anderson in his bid to win the Paddy Power World Championship.

The County Antrim ace takes on Dutchman Berry Van Peer in his opening clash at the Ally Pally on Saturday night.

Rock, 22, is managed by Scot Rab Bain, mentored by former champ Rob Cross and is relieved that Luke Littler is now under the spotlight as the young hero of the sport.

The new Northern Ireland No.1 said: “Last year everybody was saying I was the hottest prospect and now you’ve got Luke Littler and Gian Van Veen. There’s always going to be someone new every year.

“It’s actually good now that wee bit of pressure is off. But this year I’m playing a lot better than a year ago. I'm a lot more consistent getting to quarters, semis and finals.

“Becoming Northern Ireland’s No.1 was on the bucket list for this year and getting into the world’s top 16 and I’m not too far away. Coming up to the Worlds I’m provisionally number 19 but now just an extra push to get top 16.

“It’s consistent progress which is good. If you climb to the top straight away, the expectation is always there.

“It’s good that I haven’t just shot up and won one or two majors.

“Rob Cross fell away after he won the Worlds and he’s only found his game back again after five or six years.

“We have the same management with Rab Bain and sponsored by his company RBS Scaffolding. Rob has helped me so much. There’s been times when I’ve been down and he’s brought me back to life.”

Rock has the swagger and ability of his inspirations - darts legend Anderson and UFC superstar McGregor... although he DOESN'T follow the same football team as the Celtic-daft Dublin fighter.

A year after hitting a nine-darter against Michael van Gerwen he also recently reached the quarter-finals of the Grand Slam.

He explained: “Gary is my inspiration and I’ve got a good record against him. We’ve played each other four times this year and I’ve won three. The first time he beat me was in a final!

“I think when we first played we both averaged about 110. It was hard the first time because he’s my idol and I was just excited and nervous to play him.

“He was always my hero and always will be but when it comes to this game, you have to take that out of the equation.

“I just take inspiration from Conor McGregor. You have to go up there and be confident. No one is going up on stage to lose. It’s not cocky, it’s just confidence.

“I wouldn’t do the Conor walk to get the trophy if I won, I’d pick the trophy like everyone else does. I wouldn’t want to drop it!

“I’m going to the Ally Pally to win the tournament, the same as everybody is. I believe that one day I will be world champion. If you don’t believe, you won’t achieve.

“It could be this year, it could be 10 years. Michael Smith said he was going to win it and it took 10 years. But he still won it. If that’s me, that’s me.”

Rock’s walk-on is ‘Welcome to the Party’ a dance song by DJ Krissy which has been adopted by Light Blues fans and is naturally delighted that Rangers got their hands on the Viaplay Cup.

He added: “I had planned to go to Ibrox for the Europa League match with Sparta but I had to be at the Grand Slam in Wolverhampton instead!”

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