Deller: "Adrian's goal is to get back in the Premier League, he wants to be back in that and he is going to keep doing all he can to get there on merit."
Monday 4 November 2019 12:24, UK
Adrian Lewis is eyeing a return to the Premier League in 2019, according to his manager Keith Deller.
Lewis had been an ever-present in the world's top five since claiming his maiden World Championship title in 2011, but a long injury-lay off in 2017, combined with some early exits in major TV events, saw his world ranking plummet.
The Stoke star subsequently slipped outside of the world's top 20, which resulted in him missing out on a Premier League berth for the first time since 2009.
However, the two-time world champion has shown signs of a resurgence this year, reaching four finals on the Pro Tour circuit which has seen him regain his top 16 status.
Deller, the 1983 world champion, appeared on The Darts Show this week to discuss Lewis' journey and hopes for 2019.
"Adrian's goal is to get back in the Premier League. He wants to be back in that and he is going to keep doing all he can to get there on merit. There's a lot to play for over the next few months.
"He wants to get back in the Premier League and I was told one of the reasons Adrian was left out of the Premier League was because he missed too many tournaments last year and his ranking wasn't good enough," Deller said.
He also revealed Lewis' disappointment at suffering defeat in the final of Sunday's Players Championship 22, which would have clinched his Grand Slam qualification.
"He was furious when he spoke to me last night. There was a Grand Slam place there as well and he was more annoyed about that than winning the tournament, with the Grand Slam being a big ranking event.
"He really was angry and upset which is good; that's what I want to see. I don't want someone saying to me: 'I was just unlucky today'.
"If it doesn't hurt when you lose then your days are numbered but he was really fuming and he should have been really," Deller said.
Lewis was beaten in Sunday's Pro Tour final by Krzysztof Ratajski, who despite not holding a PDC Tour Card, secured an incredible double in Barnsley over the weekend.
"He should have gone 3-2 up; that was a good chance. Ratajski played really well but Adrian was disappointed to lose," the 58-year-old told The Darts Show.
"Although as I said to him, he had a lot of time off last year with the operation, missing quite a lot of events and once you start missing some events, your sharpness isn't there; your bottle comes into play more and it takes some time to come back.
"He's now starting to make semi-finals and finals. He hasn't got over the winning line this year which he knows he should have done, but it's all leading up to the World Championship.
The more finals he keeps making, the more he'll keep getting across the line and winning.
"He still can qualify for the Grand Slam, but the big one for him is five weeks away and that's what he's really gearing up to," Deller added.
When asked by The Darts Show whether Lewis would opt to focus on major TV tournaments next year, Deller insisted that Pro Tour events were imperative for maintaining sharpness.
"He's going to play in a lot of the tournaments. He'll pick and choose the Europeans, but he'll play enough to make sure he qualifies for that event; he'll play in virtually all of the floor tournaments.
"You've got to play tournaments. You have got to play under pressure week-in week-out and maybe some of the finals he's lost this year is because he hasn't been in many finals over the last 18 months.
"The more finals he keeps making, the more he'll keep getting across the line and winning."
Lewis began the year ranked outside of the world's top 20, but his consistency in floor events have seen him make strides in the right direction, although Deller claims 'Jackpot' has his sights set much higher.
"I think he is provisionally 14th in the world which is no good for Adrian. He's still got his mindset to get back in the top four and until he gets back in there he said the job isn't done, so I think he's going to be stronger."
Darts season is in full swing and continues on Sky Sports with the Grand Slam of Darts in November and the World Championships, which get underway from the iconic Alexandra Palace on December 13.
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