Joe Cullen has expressed uncertainty over the growing trend of coaching in darts, singling out Wayne Mardle as the only standout figure offering guidance. Speaking to Winmau, the former Masters champion said: “I wouldn’t be against it. But I think it is only Wayne [Mardle] the sort of reputable one at the minute. There are so many people trying to come through and do certain things. Maybe Glen [Durrant] but I have not seen much of his stuff. But I have seen a few of Wayne’s.”
Cullen believes that coaches must have experience competing on the big stage to back up their knowledge. “I think it is difficult and there are people doing coaching courses but I am like, you can’t play the game. But then the other side of it, Roger Federer’s coach can’t play tennis, can he? There must be some sort of logic to it somewhere,” he added.
Away from coaching, Cullen also admitted his dislike for playing against tall opponents. “It sounds weird actually, but I don’t like playing tall players. If I am playing Jonny [Clayton] I can see straight over his head,” he stated. He named Jimmy van Schie, Mensur Suljovic, and Boris Krcmar as examples, explaining that he has to “lurch to see what they are hitting.” Cullen prefers to see his opponents’ scores on stage, sensing an opportunity when it comes, but admits his focus can be impacted. “I remember when I was first coming through, the few big names if I drew Phil Taylor, you know you are playing Phil Taylor. You can say you are just playing the board but when a big chance comes, you know who you are playing. I think that is the biggest challenge in darts, the mental side of it far more than the technical side.”
Cullen is currently competing at the Slovak Darts Open. He got past Hungarian Peter Kelemen 6-3 in his opening match and will take on Ross Smith. While not the tallest opponent, 'Smudger' still has a bit of height which may impact Cullen on stage in Bratislava.
