MARK ALLEN SAYS that snooker is in ‘recovery mode’ after the retirement of Stephen Hendry and Ronnie O’Sullivan’s decision not to compete this season.

The Northern Irishman defends his title in the UK Championship, which starts on Saturday, and knows that many people are looking to him and Judd Trump to revive the sport.

However, Allen says neither he nor the Bristol youngster will allow themselves to be put under any added pressure, adding that the sport is not in a ‘period of growth.’

The 26-year-old said that he will miss Hendry much more than O’Sullivan, but fans of the sport may feel differently.

“I think Stephen’s a bigger miss to the game than Ronnie, but from the financial side Ronnie is the big draw and I think the tournaments have suffered because of that,” Allen said.

“The crowds haven’t been the same and there hasn’t really been that same buzz around the tournaments and it’s going to be a bit of time before it can recover.”

Allen says that it is up to all the players on the circuit to fill the gap left by O’Sullivan, not just him and Trump.

“We just play. I don’t think Judd goes out there to do anything different to what he would do in practice and it’s the same for me.

“The crowds seem to enjoy watching me play. Snooker’s in good hands but it’s still going to take time for it to recover from there being no Ronnie or Hendry factor.”

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