Phil Taylor says Luke Littler must overcome 'Manchester United syndrome' to beat his World Championship record

Phil Taylor has outlined what Luke Littler must do to break his record of 16 World Darts Championship titles – and it involves overcoming 'Manchester United syndrome'.

Earlier this month, Littler became the youngest player in history to win the PDC event following a comprehensive 7-3 win over Michael van Gerwen.

It has been a remarkable 12 months for the Warrington-born teenager, who has pocketed well over £1 million in prize money following 11 title wins, including the World Matchplay and World Grand Prix

But the 17-year-old has some way to go if he wants to match the achievements of 16-time world champion Phil Taylor.

Over the course of his 31-year professional career, 'The Power' is said to have earned over £7.5 million in prize money after winning 214 professional tournaments, according to dartsdatabase.

With all that being said, Taylor has backed Littler to break his record of 16 world titles but has warned that the teenager must overcome many obstacles, including 'Manchester United syndrome'.

Taylor said: "If he wants to beat my world record, then he can go ahead and do it. It's going to be difficult, to win 16 titles you are going to have to be in a lot of finals.

"It's a lot of darts, a lot of hotels, a lot of miles travelling. He'd have to play for the next 20 years to get close to my record and for 20 years he's got to be dedicated and make sure he does everything right.

"It's difficult when you are young and you have money in the bank. I was 30 when I won for the first time, so I'd done all that before."

Taylor will go down as one of the greats. Image credit: Getty

Taylor added: "You get what I used to call the Man Utd syndrome - and Liverpool have got it as well - where everybody raises their game against you, so you have to be at your best in every round.

"And it can take its toll on you. Especially when you get beaten because everyone questions you: 'Why did he lose? What was wrong with him? Why has his bubble burst?'.

"Everybody loves to see you up there, and then they love seeing you get knocked off as well. It's how you take it, but I think he is mentally strong enough to deal with it.

"I've had my day but I would have loved to play Luke at my best, we'd have had a cracking game. I think I'd have beaten him but I'm not sure!"

Littler, meanwhile, has plenty of self-belief. "Deep down, if I want to try and break the record then I'm sure I've got the ability to," he said after winning this month's World Darts Championship.

"If I want it, I'm sure I'll do it. I just need to keep going. The calendar is stacked all year round. I've said in previous interviews, if I win every major title in my career I'll be happy, but obviously I'd like to add to the world titles."

Littler believes he can break Taylor's long-standing record. Image credit: Getty

Can he do it? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

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