"Dimi, I know you're working hard, I know you're pushing, I know you're trying, but if it's not happening, it's not happening" - "Candid Dimitri Van den Bergh realizes that there is still a lot of work ahead

Team Belgium has secured a place in the last 16 of the World Cup of Darts after all. Following a disappointing opening day, Dimitri Van den Bergh and Mike De Decker bounced back with a crucial victory against Slovenia. As Slovenia went on to beat Hong Kong 4-2, the Belgians remain in the tournament.

After the match, both players spoke to the media. Van den Bergh, in particular, spoke candidly about the difficult period he is going through, his struggle with a dip in form and the crucial role De Decker has played over the past few days.

The Belgian team did not have a flawless start to the World Cup of Darts. Dimitri Van den Bergh, in particular, was visibly struggling on the stage. The former UK Open champion failed to reach the standard he expects of himself and struggled with his game. A day later, he looked back on it honestly.

"From my point of view, yesterday I just don't know how to explain it. Whatever happened up there happened. Afterwards, Mike and I had a conversation. He said, "Dimi, I know you're working hard, I know you're pushing, I know you're trying, but if it's not happening, it's not happening. You can't do anything about it," said Van den Bergh to Online Darts.

"He knows, and I know, that I'm giving 110%. Yesterday Mike was fantastic, but I still didn't do enough, and for me that was a killer. I'm happy that I managed to turn things around today and help him when he wasn't finding the treble 20s like he was yesterday. We both felt that today we really played like a team. It was definitely a good change and I'm really happy about that."

Given Van den Bergh's lack of form that could even see him lose his Tour Card and De Decker not being much better either, it was a year that Belgium haven't been widely touted and ironically it is Kim Huybrechts who isn't in the team this time but was a stalwart who has been playing perhaps the best out of the Belgian contingent.

But Van den Bergh said that the lack of outside noise is up to them to dissipate and find a way through their own doubts and the doubts of others. "We knew there was doubt from the outside world and we knew there was doubt in our own minds as well. But at the end of the day, we're always going to step on that stage and give 110%. It's important to play with your heart. It doesn't matter what the criticism is going to be or what people say.

What matters is what we do. That's action. Today we've got a good win, an important win, and it keeps us in the running. That's all we can focus on.

But it was also doubt in the mind of Van den Bergh who thought he was getting back to his best only to have it snatched away when his throw as he even said went 'worldwide' due to how poor he was playing. So he said he is now back to square one.

"A couple of weeks ago I said that I felt like I was back to about 70 or 80 percent. I even did an interview with a journalist back home in Belgium and said exactly that. But after that interview there were still things going on at home. All I wanted to do was move forward and make things easier.

"That wasn't the case yesterday. Everybody saw it worldwide and I still don't have an explanation for it. So in a way, I'm back to square one. Today was a good day and I played better, but all I can really say is thank you to Mike for being a great leader."

De Decker said that the team aspect of not being alone helps matters joking that he was trying to give Van den Bergh a kick up the backside which The Dreammaker said he still felt.

"Maybe it's 50-50. The good thing is that you're not on your own up there on stage. Yesterday I was trying to give him a kick up the arse." Normally when you're struggling on stage, you're all by yourself. Here you can do it together and lift each other up.

"That can make a big difference compared to other tournaments and it definitely helps. If you watched our game today, when I was hitting 60s, he was hitting trebles. When I was hitting trebles, he was scoring well too. We were constantly covering for each other. I think today we genuinely played as a team and that's a big step forward."

But bouncing back from the night before was also a big thing for Van den Bergh who said that they merely just gave it perspective that if he's trying his best, he can't do much else and he will always trust his partner in De Decker to provide the goods and lead the team.

"Whatever happened yesterday, I still can't explain it. But Mike, as a leader of this World Cup team, said to me: "I know you're giving 100%. I know you're doing your best. But when it's not happening, it's not happening."

"I can stand at the oche, I can aim at what I want to hit, but if the dart doesn't go where I'm looking, at least I've still given everything to try. Then it's about letting go and trying again. I've got so much belief in the guy standing next to me. Whether he's playing on his own or beside me, I always believe he's got it. That's why I've always trusted him. Whenever I'm not playing well, Mike is there to show everyone that Belgium has great players."