Josh Rock refuses to change walk-on music after PDC banned his choice of song

Josh Rock has vowed not to ditch his Rangers-themed walk-on music in Glasgow, despite the threat of a hostile reception from Celtic football supporters. The Northern Irishman is still chasing his first win in this season's Premier League Darts after quarter-final exits on Nights 1 and 2. He returns to action on Night 3 in Glasgow, where he faces former world champion Luke Humphries in the opening round.

A lifelong Rangers fan, Rock walks on to "Welcome to the Party" by DJ Krissy - a song closely associated with Rangers' march to the 2020/21 Scottish Premiership title. With the Glasgow crowd likely to include plenty of supporters of Rangers' fierce rivals, Celtic, the choice could spark tension inside the arena. But Rock insists he has no concerns about the reaction and says he has no intention of changing a thing.

"Luckily, Celtic are playing in the Europa League [on Thursday] so hopefully they [Celtic fans] are all out of there and it will all be Rangers fans [in the arena]," Rock laughed. "I have no plans to change my walk-on... I'm not going to change it because my kids love my walk-on song."

With no Scottish players in this year's Premier League line-up, Rock was asked whether his Rangers affiliation might make him the hometown favourite in the OVO Hydro. "I hope so," he said. "It's been two or three years since the last Scottish player took part in the Premier League.

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"I'm close to Scotland, it's literally a two-hour boat or a short flight over the water. I would love it [to have a big Scottish support] to happen, but I don't know what to expect from the crowd."

It comes after Rock revealed he was banned changing his walk-on ahead of the World Matchplay last year. He had hoped to debut a new song, but later revealed the change was seemingly vetoed by the PDC.

"I didn't change my mind, I just wasn't allowed in the end," Rock explained after his first round victory over Ross Smith. "But I'm not going to go on about it."

Rock has managed to win just four legs in his debut Premier League Darts campaign so far. He was beaten 6-2 by Jonny Clayton on Night 1 in Newcastle before suffering an identical 6-2 defeat to Michael van Gerwen in Antwerp on Night 2.

With Luke Humphries awaiting him in Glasgow, Rock will be well aware that he has lost his last three meetings with Cool Hand. However, he can draw confidence from the fact he previously enjoyed a run of three consecutive victories over Humphries between 2022 and 2024.