The Rocket made short work of Pang Junxu at the Crucible to set up a quarter-final with Si Jiahui
Ronnie O'Sullivan says he's playing with no confidence at the World Championship
Snooker great Ronnie O'Sullivan believes he might never rediscover his confidence at the table.
The Rocket set up a quarter-final with Si Jiahui at the World Championship in Sheffield as he looks to eclipse Stephen Hendry's record of seven Crucible crowns.
But despite dispatching with Pang Junxu 12-4 without ever looking in any danger, the Rocket believes he might never return to the form that saw him secure his place as one of snooker's all time greats.
And he rubbished suggestions that a new cue was causing him issues, insisting he is the problem rather than his equipment.
The 49-year-old told the BBC: "The cue is fine, it's just me. I've given up trying to work it out. If I can't work it out, then you can either accept it or you can't. And I don't think I could accept playing the way I have been for quite a while.
I'm just going to try and coach my way out of it and give myself at least two years because I probably haven't devoted all my time to snooker over the past three or four years.
"If I can just give it a good go and maybe find some game so I feel confident out there. At the moment I feel so unconfident. It's horrible. Even when you're playing alright.
"I got messed up by a coach and it's trying to unravel it. I'm not sure I can, you know. It's really difficult. I've rebuilt my game before. Successfully though. I don't even know what's left, it's just the feeling.
"I played a safety shot and hit it so thick that I can't even see where I'm hitting it. It's just guesswork. You'll change something else and the ball looks different again.
"There are so many different parts of the game that you've got to get right. But I'm just terrible to be honest with you.
"It's not about winning, it's about going out there, enjoying it and feeling confident to do yourself justice. I'm not bothered about winning
"It's nice to win, but I just want to have good games. I've always felt better if I've played well in a game and lost than if I've played terrible and won. I know I'm probably not normal, so I've accepted that as well.
"I love grafting but I can't handle not knowing where the balls are going.
"The cue is alright, I couldn't even tell you if it was a good cue because I'm hitting the ball that bad. I've gone through about 30 cues and I've got to the point where I've gone, I can't really judge if it's a good cue. Because, with the way I'm hitting the ball, they all sound terrible."
O'Sullivan also opened up on his last minute decision to compete in Sheffield, which came after four months out of action following a frustrating Championship League campaign.
He continued: "The decision was hard because I thought it could've been a complete disaster. I'd have been happy to win two or three frames and make a game of it.
"If either of the opponents have played well then I would've got beat. It's just that they played poorly and let me off the hook. I've managed to score a few. That's how I've managed to get through.
"It's very different to 2012 because the minute I put my cue in my hand a few weeks before coming here in 2013 I didn't feel like I could miss.
"I knew I was going to be rusty, but I was playing well. If you're playing well, who cares?
"If won this tournament many times before playing what I'd consider to be badly. It can be done. But it's much more achievable in your early 40s and late 30s.
"When you're 50 and struggling to bend down to do your shoelaces up it gets a bit harder.
"Feeling wise it's the worst I've ever felt to be honest with you. I don't know where my back arm is, I don't know where my left leg is. Sometimes I can't even see where I'm hitting. It really is difficult."
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