🔗 Share this article

The Liverpool skipper has delivered a blunt evaluation of the club's woeful championship campaign, confessing the title holders are in a mess and letting down manager Arne Slot while questioning whether every player is taking responsibility for the team’s slump.

Van Dijk struggled to hold back his frustration after Saturday’s 3-0 home defeat by Nottingham Forest, a result that left Liverpool in the lower section of the Premier League table with a negative goal difference. The club's chair was in attendance to witness Liverpool’s sixth defeat in seven league games, their eighth loss in 11 matches across all competitions, and a performance that unravelled against a Forest side that began the match in the relegation zone.

Poor Second Half and Set-Piece Woes

The captain described Liverpool’s start to the second half as “not good enough” and admitted “anxiety set in” as soon as Murillo gave the visitors the lead. The first goal was the ninth concession Liverpool have conceded from a set piece in the current campaign.

“We had a great build-up to the match but in a game you are dealing with reality and the facts are we conceded a free-kick in the opening period and a poor concession at the start of the second half,” stated Van Dijk. “We are certainly failing the manager, but we’ve disappointed ourselves as well. You look at yourself first and then you support teammates, you help each other get out of this crisis because at the present time it is a difficult situation – that’s just a fact.

Van Dijk’s Demands: Step Up

The skipper typically addresses the press after a match as part of his role as team leader. Saturday was different, however. He spoke was more forceful – audible enough that any player in the Anfield tunnel could hear him – and he expressed visible fury while challenging the squad to react. “You should be angry,” he emphasized. “The key point for me is that each individual has to be accountable.” When questioned whether this is occurring, Van Dijk replied: “I don’t know. But it's essential. It’s the main thing I expect the players to do. It's challenging during difficult times but we must act if we want to get out of this.”

Squad Investment and Team Problems

The Merseyside club spent almost £450m to replenish a championship-winning team in the off-season but have gone backwards, with new arrivals struggling to contribute so far. Van Dijk maintained that Liverpool’s problems extend past the new recruits. “It's difficult for everyone,” he said. “My expectation is for each player to be answerable on the field. This is necessary in order to push each other, to improve collectively. If a teammate presses, you have to follow the press. These are fundamentals but it’s not happening enough.”

Call for Unity

The Dutchman added: “In the current term we don’t have any steady form, we concede excessive scores, we are losing battles and everyone is responsible for it and I trust everyone sees that. We have to take responsibility to turn this around 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 tough time you must remain united and not point fingers.

“You have to be a man and confront the hardship and persist, again and again because surrendering is not an option then you are in the wrong environment in my eyes, because this club has been enduring many adversity over recent seasons and we’ve consistently emerged of it. However, that doesn't imply it is easy, it’s tiring but there is only one path forward.”

Next Fixtures

Next up in the domestic league is a trip to West Ham next weekend, after the midweek visit of PSV in the Champions League. Van Dijk commented: “The next game is another game so what am I going to do, go home and cry? Certainly not, I'll go home and analyze how we can turn this around and I trust that is what everyone is doing as well.”