Enthusiasm Intact For Buoyant McManus

Alan McManus is eager to repeat his Crucible success as he looks ahead to the 2016/17 season.

McManus enjoyed a brilliant run to the semi-finals of the Betfred World Championship, knocking out six players including Stephen Maguire, Ali Carter and John Higgins. At 45, the Glaswegian was the oldest player to reach the last four at the Crucible in 31 years, though Ding Junhui eventually ended his run, the scoreline 17-11.

McManus enjoyed a superb 13-11 quarter-final win over John Higgins in Sheffield.

“For sure the Crucible run will give me confidence going forward this season” said the player nicknamed Angles, who was back in action last week at the qualifiers in Preston. “It was a good feeling. I’m going to try to go deep in more tournaments and I’ll be practising hard to make that happen. I’ve got some nice memories from it. It would have been good to go all the way and get to the final. In the end Ding was too strong and I can’t shy away from that.

“The game has changed. I have tried to keep up with times. You could probably compare it to a football manager like Alex Ferguson who had to change his team (at Manchester United) two or three times over a 20-year period. I’ve had to change my game because now it’s more about attacking and scoring.

“I’ve tried to surround myself with some of the young guys to pick up on their enthusiasm and use that to my advantage. This will be my 27th season but I don’t feel old so bring it on.”