Van Dijk Admits Squad Faces Crisis, Challenges Teammates on Responsibility

Virgil van Dijk has delivered a scathing assessment of Liverpool's woeful title defence, confessing the title holders are in a mess and failing head coach Slot while questioning whether every player is owning up for the team’s slump.

The Dutch defender could not contain his anger after Saturday’s heavy loss at Anfield by Nottingham Forest, a result that left Liverpool in the bottom half of the top-flight standings with a negative goal difference. The club's chair was in attendance to observe Liverpool’s latest loss in seven league games, their eighth loss in 11 matches across every tournament, and a display that fell apart against a Forest side that began the match 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 the Forest player gave Sean Dyche’s team the advantage. The first goal was the ninth goal Liverpool have allowed from dead-ball situations in the Premier League this season.

“There was a great build-up to the match but in a game you are dealing with facts and the facts are we gave away a set piece in the first half and a terrible goal at the start of the second half,” said Van Dijk. “We are certainly letting him down, but we’ve let ourselves down as well. You look at yourself first and then you support teammates, you work together to escape of this mess because at the moment it is a mess – that's the reality.

Van Dijk’s Demands: Step Up

The skipper typically addresses the press after a game as part of his role as Liverpool captain. Saturday was different, however. He spoke was more forceful – so loud that any player in the stadium corridors could hear him – and he shook with anger while challenging the dressing room to respond. “Anger is justified,” he emphasized. “The key point for me is that each individual has to be accountable.” Asked whether that is happening, he replied: “It's unclear. But it's essential. 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 Team Problems

The Merseyside club spent almost £450 million to strengthen a championship-winning team in the summer but have regressed, with new arrivals failing to make an impact so far. Van Dijk maintained that Liverpool’s issues go beyond the recent additions. “It's difficult for all involved,” he said. “What I want is for each player to be answerable on the pitch. This is necessary in order to motivate one another, to improve collectively. If a teammate presses, you have to follow the effort. These are fundamentals but they're lacking enough.”

Appeal to Stick Together

The Dutchman continued: “In the current term we don’t have any steady form, we concede far too many goals, we are losing battles and everyone is responsible for it and I hope this is recognized. We have to accept duty to turn this around and it is easy to assign blame but unity is essential. Past successes were collective and claimed the title and everyone was part of it, and during a challenging phase you have to stick together and avoid blaming others.

“Show character and confront the hardship and go again, repeatedly because surrendering is not an option then you are in the wrong environment in my view, because this club has been enduring many adversity over recent seasons and we’ve always come out of it. But it doesn’t mean it is straightforward, it’s tiring but there is only one path forward.”

Next Fixtures

The upcoming match in the Premier League is a trip to West Ham next weekend, after the midweek visit of the Dutch side in the European competition. He commented: “The next game is another opportunity so how should I respond, dwell on the loss? Certainly not, I'll go home and try to think how we can turn this around and hopefully that is the collective focus as well.”