🔗 Share this article

Virgil van Dijk has issued a scathing assessment of Liverpool's woeful championship campaign, confessing the reigning champions are in a mess and failing head coach Slot while questioning whether every player is taking responsibility for the team’s slump.

Van Dijk struggled to hold back his anger after the weekend's heavy loss at Anfield by Forest, a result that saw the Reds in the bottom half of the Premier League table with a deficit in goals. The club's chair was in attendance to observe Liverpool’s latest loss in seven league games, their eighth setback in eleven fixtures across all competitions, and a display that unravelled against a Forest side that started the day in the relegation zone.

Poor Second Half and Set-Piece Woes

Van Dijk labeled Liverpool’s opening after halftime as “not good enough” and admitted “anxiety set in” as soon as Murillo gave Sean Dyche’s team the advantage. Forest’s opener was the ninth concession Liverpool have allowed from dead-ball situations in the current campaign.

“We had a productive build-up to the match but in a game you are dealing with facts and the facts are we gave away a free-kick in the opening period and a poor concession at the start of the second half,” stated Van Dijk. “We are definitely letting him down, but we’ve let ourselves down as well. Start with self-reflection and then you help each other, you work together to escape of this mess because at the moment it is a difficult situation – that's the reality.

Captain’s Challenge: Take Responsibility

Van Dijk usually speaks the media after a game as part of his role as Liverpool captain. This time was distinct, however. He spoke was much louder – audible enough that any player in the stadium corridors could hear him – and he expressed visible fury while challenging the dressing room to react. “You should be angry,” he insisted. “The main thing for me is that everyone has to take responsibility.” When questioned whether this is occurring, Van Dijk replied: “It's unclear. But you have to do that. It’s the main thing I want the players to do. It's challenging during tough periods but we must act if we want to get out of this.”

Squad Investment and Broader Issues

Liverpool invested almost £450m to replenish a title-winning squad in the off-season but have regressed, with several high-profile signings struggling to contribute so far. The captain maintained that Liverpool’s problems extend past the recent additions. “It’s tough for everyone,” he said. “My expectation is for everyone to be answerable on the pitch. We have to do that in order to push each other, to make each other better. If a teammate presses, you have to follow the effort. These are fundamentals but they're lacking enough.”

Call for Unity

Van Dijk continued: “This season we lack any consistency, we allow excessive scores, we are being out-fought and everyone is responsible for it and I hope everyone sees that. We have to take responsibility to reverse the situation and it is easy to assign blame but you have to do it together. Past successes were collective and claimed the title and everyone was part of it, and when you go through a tough time you have to stick together and avoid blaming others.

“Show character and face the toughness and go again, again and again because if you want to give up then you are in the wrong environment in my view, because this club has been going through many adversity over recent seasons and we’ve consistently emerged of it. However, that doesn't imply it is straightforward, it’s tiring but there is no other way.”

Next Fixtures

The upcoming match in the domestic league is a visit to London Stadium next Sunday, after the midweek visit of PSV in the European competition. Van Dijk commented: “The next game is another game so what am I going to do, go home and cry? Certainly not, I'll return and try to think how we can improve results and I trust that is what everyone is doing as well.”