🔗 Share this article

The Liverpool skipper has issued a blunt assessment of Liverpool's disappointing championship campaign, admitting the reigning champions are in a mess and failing head coach Slot while questioning whether all squad members is owning up for the team’s slump.

Van Dijk struggled to hold back his anger after the weekend's 3-0 home defeat by Forest, a result that left Liverpool in the bottom half of the top-flight standings with a deficit in goals. Tom Werner was present at Anfield to witness Liverpool’s sixth defeat in seven league games, their eighth loss in eleven fixtures across every tournament, and a display that fell apart against a opponent that started the day in the drop zone.

Poor Second Half and Set-Piece Woes

The captain described Liverpool’s opening after halftime as “unacceptable” and admitted “panic kicked in” as soon as the Forest player gave the visitors the advantage. The first goal was the ninth concession Liverpool have allowed from dead-ball situations in the Premier League this season.

“We had a great three or four days’ preparation but in a fixture you are dealing with reality and the facts are we gave away a set piece in the opening period and a poor concession at the beginning after the break,” stated Van Dijk. “We are definitely letting him down, but we’ve disappointed ourselves as well. Start with self-reflection and then you support teammates, you work together to escape of this crisis because at the present time it is a mess – that’s just a fact.

Van Dijk’s Demands: Step Up

Van Dijk typically addresses the press after a match as part of his role as team leader. Saturday was different, however. He spoke was more forceful – so loud that any teammate in the Anfield tunnel could listen in – and he expressed visible fury while challenging the squad to respond. “You should be angry,” he emphasized. “The key point for me is that everyone has to be accountable.” When questioned whether that is happening, he replied: “It's unclear. But you have to do that. It’s the main thing I expect the players 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 invested almost £450m to strengthen a championship-winning team in the off-season but have regressed, with several high-profile signings failing to make an impact so far. Van Dijk insisted 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. This is necessary in order to motivate one another, to improve collectively. If a teammate presses, you must join the press. These are fundamentals but it’s not happening enough.”

Call for Unity

Van Dijk continued: “This season we don’t have any consistency, we concede far too many goals, we are being out-fought and everyone is responsible for it and I trust this is recognized. We have to take responsibility to turn this around 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 must remain united and not point fingers.

“You have to be a man and face the toughness and persist, repeatedly because surrendering is not an option then you are at the wrong place in my view, because Liverpool has been going through many adversity over those years and we’ve always come out of it. However, that doesn't imply it is easy, it’s tiring but there is no other way.”

Next Fixtures

Next up in the Premier League is a visit to London Stadium next Sunday, after the Champions League fixture of PSV in the Champions League. He commented: “Wednesday is another opportunity so how should I respond, dwell on the loss? 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.”