“In the Netherlands we’re good at lifting people up, but also at tearing them down” – Vincent van der Voort on the criticism of Michael van Gerwen

Michael van Gerwen has been told he produced “absolutely nothing” during a miserable run of results.

‘Mighty Mike’ endured a difficult spell on the oche, crashing out in the quarter-finals of Night Nine in the Premier League Darts after defeat to Stephen Bunting, before suffering an early exit at the German Darts Grand Prix where he was beaten by Niko Springer.

The world No.4 also failed to impress on the ProTour circuit in Leicester, where he could not get past the fourth round across the recent double-header.

Former professional and close friend Vincent van der Voort delivered a blunt verdict on his performances.

Speaking on the Darts Draait Door podcast, he said: “He has to be critical of himself and admit it was absolutely nothing last week.

“It was three times nothing. But the reality is he’s rebuilding, and some weeks will be worse than others.”

Van der Voort also highlighted the pressure Van Gerwen faces in the Netherlands.

“In the Netherlands, we’re good at building people up, but also at tearing them down,” he said.

“Maybe things aren’t progressing quickly enough for some, but that’s part of the process. Sometimes it just doesn’t click.”

According to Van der Voort, inconsistency is currently the biggest issue in the three-time world champion’s game.

“What you see now is that when he’s in a match and things are flowing, he’s still very good — he can reach an incredibly high level.

“But when it doesn’t go his way, he struggles to turn it around. Right now, he doesn’t have the resilience to fight back during matches.

“Something clearly wasn’t right this week, and when that happens, it can just drift without you being able to reset.

“You can’t perform below your level for two years and expect to be fully back in two or three months — as much as people might want that.”

Van Gerwen returns to action on Thursday in the Premier League, where he will take on fellow Dutchman Gian van Veen in Brighton.

He currently sits fourth in the table, just one point ahead of Van Veen, as he looks to strengthen his position in the race for the O2 Arena play-offs in London.