NATHAN ASPINALL has sent a four-word message to his Premier League doubters.

The Asp has had a shaky start to the year after he was thrashed 6-1 by Kevin Doets in the opening round of the Dutch Darts Masters in January.

Rex

Nathan Aspinall has vowed to prove his doubters wrong in the Premier League[/caption]

But Aspinall, ranked No.11 in the world, has vowed to hit back at the PDC World Masters despite suffering a “torrid week” in his personal life.

Aspinall beat Andrew Gilding 3-0 in the opening round of the PDC World Masters in Milton Keynes on Friday.

Speaking to reporters after the win, Aspinall was asked whether the win would provide some extra motivation ahead of the Premier League starting on February 6.

He replied: “What do you think?”

The reporter replied: “I think so,” to which Aspinall added: “There you go.”

Aspinall appeared in his fourth Premier League event in 2024.

But finished 5th in the overall standings after winning two nights, coming runner up three times and getting to the semi-finals on three more occasions, meaning he missed out on the play-offs at the end of May.

On the win itself, the 33-year-old said: “Yeah, I’m just dead happy.

JOIN SUN VEGAS: GET £50 BONUS

“Everyone knows I’m a good player, but I’ve been lacking so much confidence, and I think I’ve walked off that stage probably the happiest and most confident I’ve felt in maybe three years.

“I needed that big performance tonight for myself.

“Forget about anyone else, I don’t care anyone else but myself and I’ve had a pretty torrid week in my personal life and that was something I needed. I’m dead happy.”

Aspinall added: “Confidence is everything in this game.

“We’re all as good as each other.

“I think a lot of the time whoever’s more confident wins.”

Aspinall’s win lined up his next match against Cameron Menzies in the quarter-finals.

You can keep up with all the darts action with SunSport’s live blog here.

Unlock even more award-winning articles as The Sun launches brand new membership programme – Sun Club.

Netflix released the second season of Fate: The Winx Saga in September 2022, and there’s a replacement we think you ...

Read more

In quiet moments before the tragedy hit, Hamaad Raza expected a simple evening with his wife, 26-year-old Asom Hussain. The ...

Read more

Having trouble guessing Heardle for October 28? Do you need help? It’s Friday, which means we all want to start ...

Read more

At the 65th Grammy Awards, K-Pop sensation BTS is making history as they are expected to win their first Grammy. ...

Read more

Meatballs now have their own meatballs.almost all Jersey Shore: Family Vacation The roommate currently has a child or is pregnant. ...

Read more

GLADIATORS was halted just minutes into the latest episode over a hilarious blunder during the first battle.

The hit BBC show returned for its third instalment of the second series, following its successful reboot last year.

BBC

Gladiators referee Mark Clattenburg halted the first game just minutes into the episode[/caption]

BBC

Steel and Phantom were taking on two new contenders for The Ring[/caption]

BBC

Mark tied Steel’s shoelaces for him before the game was restarted[/caption]

Bradley and Barney Walsh introduced the first battle called The Ring as Steel and Phantom took on the first two contenders.

However, just moments in the game was halted by head referee Mark Clattenburg.

As he blew his whistle, Mark could be heard telling Steel: “Your shoe, one minute.”

It then transpired the gladiator’s laces needed to be tied, and Mark gladly obliged him.

After the awkward exchange the game was then re-started with just 19 seconds on the clock.

Eagle-eyed Gladiators fans at home were left amused, with one writing: “You never forget your weekend job at Foot Locker.”

A second wrote: “Mark Clattenburg: referee and tier of Steel’s laces.”

“And here I thought they had better shoes this series, clearly not needing their shoelaces done up,” said a third.

While a fourth commented: “How cute was that. Doing his shoelace up.”

Gladiators narrator Guy Mowbray couldn’t help but make a cheeky dig at Mark, as he told viewers: “And to think in the Premier League we used to question his eyesight.

“Only joking, Mark.”

Gladiators continues on BBC One and iPlayer.

Unlock even more award-winning articles as The Sun launches brand new membership programme – Sun Club

UNFORGOTTEN star Sinead Keenan has revealed her surprise real-life family link to the show’s storyline.

Sinead, 47, who plays DCI James in the ITV crime drama, made the revelation during an appearance on The One Show this week.

BBC

Unforgotten star Sinead Keenan has revealed her surprise real-life family link to the show’s storyline[/caption]

BBC

The One Show host Roman Kemp was left stunned[/caption]

The actress discussed the personal challenges her character faced in the previous series as she plugged its return for series six.

Viewers will recall the turmoil Jessie endured after discovering her husband had been unfaithful with someone close to home.

In a surprising twist, Sinead revealed that her on-screen sister, Debbie – the woman involved in the affair – is actually played by her real-life sister, Grainne Keenan.

Host Roman Kemp was left stunned, saying: “This is such a mind boggle moment but, in the last series, your character Jess finds out that her husband is having an affair with her sister but your sister in the show is played by your actual sister in real life.

“Safe to say, not real-life husband? That would be horrendous! But how fun is it to play this out with her?”

Sinead replied: “Oh it’s great, it’s great. Thankfully that has never happened in real life so it was lovely.

“We’ve been in the same shows through our careers but our characters never met, crossed paths, so yeah that was real good fun.”

Written by Chris Lang, critically acclaimed Unforgotten is coming back to the small screen in just a matter of days.

The show stars Sanjeev Bhaskar and Sinéad Keenan as DI Sunny Khan and DCI Jessie James respectively, as they solve cold cases concerning murder and disappearance.

Fans will be thrilled to know Unforgotten will be back on screens from Sunday, February 9.

Meanwhile, the duo are called in to investigate when suspected human remains are uncovered on Whitney Marsh.

Analysis from Dr. Balcombe reveals the remains to be relatively recent and point to a grim circumstance.

It would suggest the body had been placed there having already been dismembered.

Armed with this knowledge, Jess and Sunny ramp up their search, convinced other body parts may not be far away.

An eclectic cast of characters also populate the story – including Melinda Ricci (MyAnna Buring), an outspoken Ireland-based television commentator.

Marty Baines (Max Fairley) is an autistic man living with his mother Dot in Deal, Kent while Asif Syed (Elham Elas), is an Afghan training for his UK citizenship test.

Elsewhere, Juliet Cooper (Victoria Hamilton), is a history lecturer and faculty head at a London university.

Although these characters live seemingly separate lives, they share intricate connections through their pasts.

Jess, Sunny, and their dedicated team are tasked with uncovering these hidden links to expose the truth behind the cold case murder.

Other returning stars include Andrew Lancel – who formerly played Coronation Street villain Frank Foster – as Jess’ husband Steve.

Meanwhile, actress and singer Kate Robbins returns to play Jess’ mum Kate.

Additional newcomers to the cast include established actors Jan Francis and Damien Maloney.

ITV

She plays DCI James in the ITV crime drama[/caption]

Virgin Media

Her sister is Grainne Keenan[/caption]

BUNDEE AKI beat not one, not two, not four, but three England players on the way to scoring a crucial try for Ireland in the Six Nations.

The popular Ireland and Connacht centre powered over in the left-hand corner to bring Simon Easterby’s men level at the Aviva Stadium.

Brendan Moran/Sportsfile

https://twitter.com/VMSportIE/status/1885751676272886007

After being found by a looping Sam Prendergast pass, Aki smashed through England talisman Marcus Smith.

And when he was confronted by Alex Mitchell and Tommy Freeman, the 34-year-old battered his way past BOTH to touch down.

Reacting to his display of immense power, fans praised Aki as an “absolute beast”.

Stewart posted: “Bundee Aki. Unreal strength to get over the line.” while Oryna joked: “Bundee Aki running straight at you should be included in a 1000 ways to die”

Harri said: “God, I love Bundee Aki. What a man”

Robert posted: “Bundee Aki doing Bundee Aki things.

“Closing the door halfway isn’t enough and he wins 2 collisions on his way to the tryline. 2 missed conversions worrying for Ireland.”

Ireland trailed 10-5 at half-time before staging their comeback to take control in their Six Nations opener.

And with that came a more buoyant atmosphere at the Aviva Stadium compared to a more subdued one in the first-half.

It was a topic of conversation on Virgin Media before the game, with pockets of seats only filling up as the game approached kick-off.

When both sets of teams left the field following their warm-up, host Joe Molloy asked the panel if the atmosphere was “a bit flat”.

Former Ireland international Shane Horgan responded: “Let’s see what it’s like when they walk on. The atmosphere against England is always strong.

“The other thing is we talk too much about what the crowd do.

“The crowd reacts to what Ireland do and how they play and if Ireland plough into this time in the first five minutes, the crowd will be into it.”

His former teammate Rob Kearney was in agreement, adding: “Sometimes there is always a bit of a lack of atmosphere here.

“We are not blessed to have an extra 30,000 seats. I couldn’t agree with Shane more.

“The teams needs to get the crowd into it but I promise you once the anthems come and we fill up in here, the place will be rocking.”

However, that did not manifest in a first-half which saw Ireland fall behind to an early Caden Murley try.

‘SERIOUS QUESTION’

After Marcus Smith was sent to the sin-bin, Jamison Gibson-Park got Ireland off the mark with try well-worked with James Lowe.

Smith returned to the field to kick a late penalty as Steve Borthwick‘s men took a 10-5 lead into the break.

And fans on social media pointed to the atmosphere at the ground being reflectively flat.

Dylan asked: “Serious question – is the atmosphere dead at Six Nations games at the Aviva Stadium? It sounds lifeless through the television.”

Alastair posted: “I know exactly what to expect from the Aviva Stadium though… Lifeless so far. Opening of the Six Nations.

“The big idea to generate pre-match atmosphere was a solo of The Fields [of Athenry]?!”

Rob said: “Trying to improve the atmosphere at the Aviva…..let’s play Dirty old town mid match”

Josh lamented: “It’s well documented, but I can confirm that the atmosphere at the Aviva is awful.”

США прискорено реалізують програму Replicator, яка передбачає розгортання великої кількості автономних дронів у Тайванській протоці до серпня 2025 року, що може значно вплинути на військовий баланс у регіоні. by @happyphotons Програма Replicator, підтримана фінансуванням у 1 мільярд доларів, передбачає створення мережі автономних дронів, що діятимуть у повітрі, на воді та під водою. Капітан Алекс Кемпбелл, […]