Snooker icon left Ally McCoist stunned by denying he ever had a psychological advantage over his arch-rival during their epic encounters on the green baize. The two titans, who share an impressive tally of seven titles each, have long been lauded as the sport's finest.

Yet, despite his legendary status, the 49-year-old is shrouded in uncertainty regarding his participation at this year's Crucible showdown, having already pulled out of several tournaments. In a candid chat with Scottish football legend and pundit McCoist, 'The Rocket' reflected on how Hendry's game plan often led to errors from his opponents.

However, when it came to his own influence over Hendry, O'Sullivan humbly dismissed any notion of having a mental edge, telling TNT Sports: "No, I don't think so. I don't think I've ever been the most confident. I know I've got ability and I know that if I play good when I'm out there, I feel confident, but in the build-up, I have a lot of self-doubt. At no point did I think 'I've got this, I'm the man to beat'. I never, ever thought that."

McCoist was evidently taken aback by O'Sullivan's admission, responding with genuine surprise: "That's amazing. Honest to god, Ronnie, I would never have thought somebody like yourself on the snooker table would have any self-doubt", to which he responded: "I used to.

"As a kid, I was very confident and had a lot of self-belief in my technique. It was so rock-solid that I used to wake up and think, 'I'm going to be nine out of 10 today'. Then as I got later into my career, I got a lot of bad habits.

"Snooker is a very technical game, a little bit like golf, and it was really hard to get it right. So from 17 to now, I've always been plagued by inconsistencies through my technique not being as good as it used to be as a kid. I've kind of had to find ways to just keep going."

Despite the honest appraisal of his own challenges, fans will remember O'Sullivan's exceptional record, which includes a staggering 42 ranking titles and 23 Triple Crown wins. Nevertheless, 'The Rocket' revealed the peak of his confidence stretched back before his professional days, citing a feeling of invincibility during his early teens, reports .

"The part where I felt invincible would have been from the age of 12 to about 16," he added. "I won a hell of a lot of amateur events, a hell of a lot of junior events. I was just relentless. I was like a machine. I just felt so confident."

O'Sullivan may hold a unique perspective on his achievements, yet he lavished praise on Hendry's influence on the game. The Scottish legend clinched his first world title in 1990, reshaping how a youthful O'Sullivan perceived snooker.

"My first hero was Steve Davis, I modelled my game on him when I was a kid, just watching him on TV," O'Sullivan recounted. "Then Stephen Hendry came along and he just blew it all apart. A bit like Tiger Woods and Usain Bolt did. He just played a different game and we all had to follow his way of playing if you wanted to become a winner and a champion.

"Hendry was just fearless. He didn't have any safety game, he didn't need it. He was that good. Hendry's mindset was, if it's the first to 10, 'I'm going to make 10 80 breaks, so it doesn't matter what you do'. He had that confidence in himself just to clear the table.

"Then that puts a lot of fear into the opponent and you start getting easy chances left because your opponent's under. Hendry came along with that type of game, whereas Davis would make a 50 or 40 and play safe and that was enough at that time. But when Hendry came along, it wasn't enough."

On Thursday morning, O'Sullivan discovered his first-round opponent for the World Championship - should he appear at the Crucible. He has been scheduled to face long-time rival Ali Carter next week.