JOE Cullen insists the lazy days are behind him as he plots his way up the PDC world darts rankings.

Cullen was kicking himself for missing out on another lucrative UK Open quarter-final appearance at the weekend after losing a 10-9 thriller to Kim Huybrechts.

But the former Wyke postman's disappointment sums up his change in attitude on the professional circuit.

Cullen is currently 27th in the world, his highest position, on the back of an improved work ethic on the practice boards.

He admitted: "I was lazy before. I just thought everything would fall into place.

"But the beginning of last year I started putting the work in and it's helping me move up the rankings.

"I noticed the difference towards the end of the year when I was winning games that before I wouldn't have done.

"People were, for want of a better word, bottling it against me and missing things, whereas before they would have taken the chance.

"It was almost as if they were panicking a bit because they could see I was playing well. They were making mistakes for that reason."

Cullen crushed 2012 champion Robert Thornton and Cristo Reyes at the Butlins Minehead arena to set up a televised fifth-round epic with Huybrechts.

Having averaged over 100 against Thornton, he appeared to carry that form into the early legs to open up a 5-1 lead. Huybrechts got back to 7-5 before Cullen missed five darts to break the Belgian's throw in the 13th leg.

With the tie heading to sudden death, Cullen landed a maximum against the throw – but he went inside with a match-winning dart at double 18 which allowed Huybrechts to hold for the most tense of wins.

Cullen, who still collected £6,500 in prize money, said: "It's my own fault. It should have been over long before that.

"I was playing well but I didn't feel comfortable even though everything was going in. He wasn't ahead until the last leg, so I was a bit gutted.

"This year has started a bit slow but that's probably a measure of where I am at.

"The week before at (the Players Championship) Barnsley, the results didn't match how I've been playing recently. But I can't remember the last bad weekend I've had before that.

"I felt I was solid in every game in the UK Open, so things are going well."

World No 3 Peter Wright took advantage of the absence of Michael van Gerwen and Phil Taylor to lift his first televised title.

Cullen said: "I'm pleased for him – I think I lost to Peter in every TV event last year, bar a couple!

"It was quite emotional afterwards seeing him say that he didn't class it as a major because the top two weren't there.

"Maybe the pressure was on him because of that but he never faltered and was consistent every single game."