🔗 Share this article

The Liverpool skipper has delivered a scathing evaluation of the club's disappointing championship campaign, confessing 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.

The Dutch defender struggled to hold back his frustration after Saturday’s 3-0 home defeat by 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 witness Liverpool’s sixth defeat in seven league games, their eighth setback in 11 matches across all competitions, and a performance that unravelled against a Forest side that started the day in the drop zone.

“Unacceptable” Start and Defensive Lapses

Van Dijk labeled Liverpool’s start to the second half as “unacceptable” and admitted “panic kicked in” as soon as the Forest player gave Sean Dyche’s team the lead. Forest’s opener was the ninth concession Liverpool have conceded from a set piece in the Premier League this season.

“There was a great build-up to the match but in a game you are facing reality and the truth is we conceded a set piece in the opening period and a poor concession at the beginning after the break,” said the defender. “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 help each other get out of this mess because at the moment it is a mess – that's the reality.

Van Dijk’s Demands: Take Responsibility

Van Dijk typically addresses the media after a match as part of his duties as Liverpool captain. This time was distinct, however. He spoke was more forceful – so loud that any player in the stadium corridors could listen in – and he expressed visible fury while urging the dressing room to respond. “You should be angry,” he emphasized. “The key point for me is that each individual has to take responsibility.” Asked whether that is happening, Van Dijk replied: “I don’t know. But you have to do that. That's crucial I expect the boys to do. It's challenging during difficult times but we must act if we aim to recover of this.”

Summer Signings and Team Problems

Liverpool spent almost £450m to replenish 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 extend past the recent additions. “It's difficult for all involved,” he said. “My expectation is for each player to be answerable on the field. We have to do that in order to motivate one another, to make each other better. When someone is pressing, you must join the press. It’s basic things but they're lacking enough.”

Call for Unity

Van Dijk added: “In the current term we lack any steady form, we allow excessive scores, we are losing battles and all share the blame for it and I trust everyone sees that. We have to accept duty 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 all contributed, and when you go through a challenging phase 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 if you want to give up then you are at the wrong place in my eyes, because this club has been enduring 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.”

Looking Ahead

The upcoming match in the Premier League is a visit to London Stadium next Sunday, after the Champions League fixture of the Dutch side in the Champions League. Van Dijk said: “The next game is another opportunity so how should I respond, go home and cry? No, I’m going to go home and try to think how we can improve results and hopefully that is what everyone is doing as well.”