Taylor believes packed darts schedule starting to affect Wright: "He's not getting any younger and he needs to pace himself"

Peter Wright is not having his best year. In the Premier League, he only managed to win one match and in the other tournaments, too, things are not working out for the two-time world champion.

Wright has started to pick and choose and his darts set-up is starting to have issues with his constant tinkering. But for Taylor, he sees age catching up with him and believes Wright needs to go down a similar route to Gary Anderson.

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“Nobody has ever worked harder to reach the top than Peter - he used to play in all the tournaments and exhibitions, he did all the travelling – and he doesn't travel lightly. He takes about six suitcases with him everywhere with all his outfits," said Taylor as per Daily Star.

“He spends two or three hours in the chair every day getting his hair done, and although he's done a brilliant job to cultivate the 'Snakebite' image, it's probably taking a toll on his body. He's not getting any younger and he needs to pace himself. He won a world title then missed out on the joy of being No.1 because of the pandemic, then he won another one and had a year from hell in and out of hospital – either him or his wife Jo.

“Sadly time waits for none of us, so he might have to pick and choose his tournaments a bit more – Gary Anderson scaled back his commitments and now he's playing beautifully again. Maybe that's the way forward for Peter.”

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Ronnie O'Sullivan made comments recently that despite being unlike darts in that players receive a wage for turning up, the finite prize money to break even puts players in a position where the bubble has now burst.

Taylor fears some semblance of that in darts but believes the progression of darts mean that it is less likely to happen so quickly.

“The expansion of darts has been controlled, and there's more prize money on the circuit than in snooker, but I think the schedule is taking its toll on some of the players now. The eight players who go from a Premier League night to a tournament in Germany, then back to another Premier League night and on to a Pro Tour somewhere like Wigan or Barnsley are sleeping in a different bed every night.

“I take a mattress-topper with me everywhere (in the UK) now, but the schedule is so demanding now and I don't know how they do it. The younger lads can cope with all the travel and rushing about, but old stagers like me need our rest.

“I'm told that to break even at a recent tournament in Germany, after petrol, airport car parking, flights, hotel, transfers and meals, you had to reach the quarter-finals – about £3,000 in prize money – or you're out of pocket. That's the pressure they are playing under, and fair play to the guys who can handle it. Darts is in a good place, but they have to be careful not to fill the balloon with so much air that it bursts.”