🔗 Share this article

Virgil van Dijk has delivered a scathing evaluation of Liverpool's woeful championship campaign, admitting the title holders are in a mess and failing manager Arne Slot while questioning whether all squad members is owning up for the current downturn.

Van Dijk struggled to hold back his anger 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 deficit in goals. The club's chair was in attendance to witness Liverpool’s sixth defeat in recent outings, their eighth loss in eleven fixtures across all competitions, and a display that unravelled against a Forest side that began the match in the relegation zone.

Poor Second Half and Defensive Lapses

The captain described Liverpool’s opening after halftime as “unacceptable” and admitted “anxiety set in” as soon as the Forest player gave the visitors the lead. Forest’s opener was the ninth goal Liverpool have allowed from dead-ball situations in the current campaign.

“We had a productive three or four days’ preparation but in a game you are dealing with facts and the facts are we conceded a free-kick in the first half and a poor concession at the start of the second half,” said the defender. “As a team, we're definitely letting him down, 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 mess – that’s just a fact.

Captain’s Challenge: Step Up

The skipper typically addresses the press after a game as part of his role as Liverpool captain. This time was distinct, however. His voice was much louder – so loud that any teammate in the Anfield tunnel could hear him – and he expressed visible fury while challenging the dressing room to respond. “You should be angry,” he emphasized. “The key point for me is that each individual has to be accountable.” Asked whether this is occurring, he replied: “I don’t know. But you have to do that. It’s the main thing I want the boys to do. It's challenging during tough periods but we must act if we aim to recover of this.”

Squad Investment and Broader Issues

Liverpool 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 insisted that Liverpool’s problems go beyond the new recruits. “It’s tough for all involved,” he said. “My expectation is for each player to take responsibility on the field. This is necessary in order to motivate one another, to make each other better. If a teammate presses, you must join the effort. It’s basic things but they're lacking enough.”

Appeal to Stick Together

Van Dijk continued: “This season 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 hope everyone sees that. We have to take responsibility to reverse the situation and it is easy to assign blame but unity is essential. We have been through it together and won the league and all contributed, and during a tough time you have to stick together and avoid blaming others.

“You have to be a man and face the toughness and go again, again and again because surrendering is not an option then you are in the wrong environment in my view, because this club has been enduring numerous challenges over those years 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 Premier League is a visit to London Stadium next weekend, after the midweek visit of the Dutch side in the Champions League. Van Dijk said: “Wednesday is another game so what am I going to do, dwell on the loss? No, I’m going to return and try to think how we can turn this around and hopefully that is the collective focus as well.”