GRAEME DOTT believes he is on cue to make a big break – all the way back to the top of a game he once ruled.

Since lifting his maiden World Championship crown, the Scot has not had his troubles to seek, at or away from the table, with personal tragedy coinciding with a freefall down the rankings.

It is five years since Dott was crowned King of The Crucible after a 18-14 victory over Peter Ebdon that had millions of TV viewers captivated as the clock ticked past midnight.

However, much of the period between then and now was one of heartbreak for the Larkhall-born star.

Snooker took a backseat as the 34-year-old came to terms with the death of his father-in-law and mentor, Alex Lambie, from cancer and a miscarriage suffered by his wife, Elaine, in the months after his Sheffield triumph.

The impact on Dott was profound, falling way from the upper echelons of the game and being diagnosed with depression.

But after a season in which he showed glimpses of his best at The Crucible and climbed back into the all important top 16 in the world, the Pocket Dynamo has his sights set on a return to the winners' enclosure sooner rather than later.

"Things are going quite well just now," Dott told SportTimes. "I am getting there and, hopefully, back to where I was.

"I am ranked No.10 just now so hopefully I can keep playing well and try and compete to win tournaments again.

"It does give you a confidence boost when you move back up the rankings.

"When you slip down the rankings it is important that you try and get back up there as quickly as possible.

"I am happy with what I am doing but I am certainly not finished yet, I still want to get higher.

"There can only be one winner at the end of the day. With the standard as high as it is, it is getting harder to win consistently.

"If you are still competing then you are doing pretty well so you just have to keep giving it your best shot."

Despite his revival of sorts, Dott – who has made it to The Crucible final twice in addition to his 2006 triumph – did not have too many real highlights to speak of last season.

He reached the semi-finals of the German Masters before impressive wins over Mark King and Ali Carter as he bid for a second world crown.

Dott succumbed to eventual runner-up Judd Trump at the quarter- final stage in April, and hopes more time in a competitive environment this time around will pay dividends.

"I never had a great season last year but this season has been pretty good," he said.

"Being busy helps because I am a lot sharper than perhaps I have been in previous years. There is still improvement to come. There are so many tournaments these days that you perhaps don't need to practise as much."

With his last tournament triumph coming four years ago in the China Open, Dott is eager to finally end his wait to add another trophy to his collection, and will be aided in his quest by the sheer volume of events on the calendar.

Dott has already clocked up significant air miles this season but with his wife and daughter Lucy at home in Lanarkshire, the former world No.2 admits there a considerations to be made.

He said: "It is hard when you have got a young family. It is turning in to a single man's game with the way it is going.

"I am travelling everywhere at the moment – Brazil, Germany, China, Poland – we are all over the world playing.

"I am doing it at the moment but it is hard trying to juggle that and your personal life. It is better than playing six tour- naments a year, though, so you can't really complain.

"I will need to evaluate things and start planning what events I am going to play and what ones I will miss."