🔗 Share this article

Virgil van Dijk has delivered a scathing assessment of Liverpool's woeful championship campaign, confessing the reigning champions are in a mess and failing manager Arne Slot while questioning whether all squad members is taking responsibility for the team’s slump.

Van Dijk could not contain his frustration after Saturday’s heavy loss at Anfield by Nottingham Forest, a result that left Liverpool in the bottom half of the Premier League table with a negative goal difference. The club's chair was present at Anfield to observe Liverpool’s latest loss in recent outings, their eighth setback in 11 matches across every tournament, and a display that unravelled against a opponent that began the match in the relegation zone.

“Unacceptable” Start and Set-Piece Woes

The captain described Liverpool’s start to the second half as “not good enough” and admitted “panic kicked in” as soon as Murillo gave Sean Dyche’s team the lead. Forest’s opener was the ninth concession Liverpool have conceded from a set piece in the current campaign.

“There was a productive build-up to the match but in a fixture you are facing reality and the truth is we gave away a free-kick in the first half and a terrible goal at the beginning after the break,” stated the defender. “We are definitely failing the manager, but we’ve disappointed ourselves as well. You look at yourself first and then you support teammates, you work together to escape of this crisis 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 role as Liverpool captain. Saturday was different, however. His voice was more forceful – audible enough that any teammate in the Anfield tunnel could hear him – and he expressed visible fury while urging the dressing room to react. “Anger is justified,” he emphasized. “The key point for me is that each individual has to take responsibility.” When questioned whether this is occurring, he answered: “I don’t know. But it's essential. It’s the main thing I want the players to do. It’s not easy during difficult times but we have to do it if we aim to recover of this.”

Summer Signings and Team Problems

Liverpool invested almost £450m to strengthen a championship-winning team in the off-season but have gone backwards, with several high-profile signings failing to make an impact so far. Van Dijk maintained that Liverpool’s issues extend past the new recruits. “It’s tough for all involved,” he said. “My expectation is for everyone to take responsibility on the pitch. This is necessary in order to motivate one another, to improve collectively. When someone is pressing, you must join the press. These are fundamentals but it’s not happening enough.”

Appeal to Stick Together

Van Dijk continued: “In the current term we don’t have any consistency, we concede far too many goals, we are losing battles and all share the blame for it and I trust this is recognized. 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 won the league and all contributed, and when you go through a challenging phase you must remain united and not point fingers.

“Show character 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 numerous challenges over those years and we’ve consistently emerged of it. But it doesn’t mean it is straightforward, it’s tiring but there is no other way.”

Next Fixtures

The upcoming match in the domestic league is a trip to West Ham next Sunday, after the midweek visit of PSV in the European competition. 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 analyze how we can improve results and I trust that is what everyone is doing as well.”