SCOTT Mitchell described as “not impossible, but very difficult” his hopes of retaining a PDC tour card.

The Dorset star is approaching the end of his second year as a professional darts player, since winning his card to compete amongst the elite in February 2021.

Mitchell enjoyed a fine first year on tour, culminating in qualification for the World Championship at Alexandra Palace in December.

But this year has been a tougher tale for the 52-year-old, who has collected just £12,500 in prize money and sits outside the spot in the top 64 required to continue on the tour in 2023.

Mitchell is now entering the last chance saloon, with three key tournaments coming up in Barnsley.

Scotty Dog will compete in the two final Players Championship events of the year, before ending the trip with a Grand Slam qualifier on Sunday.

Failure to go on a significant run in any of the three will leave his hopes of staying among the PDC’s main roster for another year looking slim.

Looking ahead to the trip to Yorkshire, Mitchell told the Daily Echo: “It looks difficult to keep my tour card from where I’m stood.

“Not impossible, but very difficult. I’ve put the work in, I’ve put the practice in in the last two weeks since the last Pro Tour. I just hope that that comes to me.

“It’s all on the day. It’s just what your head allows you to do on the day and how you’re feeling on the day.

“I’ve got to make sure I feel pretty positive or I’ve got to let my hair down and enjoy it because it might be my last couple of Pro Tours for a while.

“The way that I’ll approach it is that I’ll try to enjoy it really.”

The world number 72 added: “It’s such a cliché but it’s true, I just want to go and win the first round games really.

“Then you feel like you’re in the tournament and you’re buzzing a little bit because you’ve won a game and hopefully you can continue to go on.

“I have made quarter-finals there without a problem, I’ve done it this year. So it’s within touching distance.

“If I have a good day, it could happen. But the draw is all very important.”

Mitchell has competed in multiple big-pressure contests throughout his career, ranging from the 2015 BDO World Championship final to needing a big run on the final day of Q School in 2021 to secure his tour card initially.

Asked how this upcoming weekend compares, Mitchell said: “I don’t feel the pressure. I don’t look at pressure like that anymore.

“It’s one of those things where you’ve got to be in command of the situation, rather than let the situation take you over. That’s what I’ll be trying to do really.

“It’s all down to me. I’ve got to try and recover a year in a weekend if I can. Which is going to be very tough.”