Callan Rydz admits being called “unstable” by Dimitri Van den Bergh fired him up to batter the Belgian at the World Darts Championship.
Now he’s into the last 16 and hoping for a glorious Newcastle double. Rydz rifled to a whitewash win over Van den Bergh having been left puzzled at the pre-match comments of his rival. He admitted: “He said I was unstable. I didn’t get what that was, unstable from 107 to 91, that’s the way I seen it. But, if that’s the case, on the floor, he can average 110 to 85 because we’ve seen it. I didn’t get it.
“I didn’t watch the interview. It was one of my best friends. He went: Did you see Dimitri’s interview? I said no and he went: He called you unstable. I went: He’s not wrong! But I think that was the fire in the belly I needed. My stage form has been shocking. But if it’s going to come right, come right here.”
Rydz rattled through to join fellow Geordie heroes Chris Dobey and Ryan Joyce in the last 16 and now plays on the same day as Eddie Howe’s team meet Manchester United. St James’s Park boss Eddie Howe hasn’t been on the blower as he laughed: “No, I wish!”
But he wants joint-Magpie success on Monday as he explained: “I don’t know what it is. Newcastle has had the rub of the green. In some games they’ve nicked it and that’s what I done with [Martin] Schindler. I nicked it. And then I’ve played well like Newcastle do in some games.
“Hopefully, we can do the same to Man Utd. Some of my friends support Man Utd as well. I don’t know why, live in Bedlington. It’s daft. But, hopefully, we do get the job done. Listen, win or lose tomorrow for me, if Newcastle wins, they are going to get stick some off me.
“I love Dobey, I love Joyce. They are two boys I grew up playing darts with. Listen, if I meet Dobey in the semis and Joycey in the Final, it’ll be fantastic for Newcastle. But one game at a time at the minute.”