Virgil van Dijk has issued a scathing evaluation of the club's woeful championship campaign, confessing the reigning champions are in a mess and failing manager Arne Slot while doubting whether every player is owning up for the current downturn.
Van Dijk could not contain his anger after Saturday’s 3-0 home defeat by Forest, a result that saw the Reds in the bottom half of the top-flight standings with a negative goal difference. Tom Werner was present at Anfield to observe Liverpool’s latest loss in recent outings, their eighth setback in 11 matches across all competitions, and a display that fell apart against a opponent that started the day in the relegation zone.
“Unacceptable” Start and Set-Piece Woes
Van Dijk described Liverpool’s opening after halftime as “unacceptable” and admitted “anxiety set in” as soon as the Forest player gave the visitors the advantage. Forest’s opener was the ninth concession Liverpool have conceded from a set piece in the Premier League this season.
“There was a productive three or four days’ preparation but in a fixture you are dealing with facts and the facts are we conceded a set piece in the opening period and a terrible goal at the start of the second half,” said the defender. “We are certainly failing the manager, but we’ve let ourselves down as well. You look at yourself first and then you help each other, you help each other get out of this mess because at the present time it is a difficult situation – that’s just a fact.
Captain’s Challenge: Step Up
Van Dijk usually speaks the media after a match as part of his duties as Liverpool captain. Saturday was different, however. His voice was more forceful – audible enough that any player in the stadium corridors could hear him – and he shook with anger while challenging the squad to react. “You should be angry,” he insisted. “The key point for me is that each individual has to take responsibility.” When questioned whether this is occurring, he replied: “I don’t know. But it's essential. It’s the main thing I expect the boys to do. It's challenging during tough periods but we must act if we aim to recover of this.”
Summer Signings and Broader Issues
Liverpool invested almost £450 million to replenish a title-winning squad in the off-season but have gone backwards, with new arrivals failing to make an impact so far. The captain insisted that Liverpool’s issues go beyond the recent additions. “It’s tough for everyone,” he said. “My expectation is for everyone to be answerable on the field. We have to do that in order to push each other, to improve collectively. If a teammate presses, you must join the press. These are fundamentals but they're lacking enough.”
Call for Unity
Van Dijk continued: “In the current term we don’t have any steady form, we allow excessive scores, we are being out-fought and all share the blame for it and I hope this is recognized. We have to take responsibility to reverse the situation and tempting to assign blame but you have to do it together. Past successes were collective and won the league and everyone was part of it, and when you go through a challenging phase you must remain united and avoid blaming others.
“You have to be a man and face the toughness and persist, again and again because surrendering is not an option then you are in the wrong environment in my view, because Liverpool has been enduring many adversity over those years and we’ve always come out of it. But it doesn’t mean it is straightforward, it’s tiring but there is no other way.”
Next Fixtures
Next up in the domestic league is a trip to West Ham next Sunday, after the midweek visit of PSV in the Champions League. Van Dijk said: “Wednesday is another opportunity so what am I going to do, go home and cry? Certainly not, I'll go home and try to think how we can improve results and hopefully that is what everyone is doing as well.”
