🔗 Share this article

The Liverpool skipper has delivered a scathing assessment of the club's disappointing title defence, confessing the reigning champions are in disarray and failing head coach Slot while questioning whether all squad members is owning up for the current downturn.

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 lower section of the top-flight standings with a negative goal difference. The club's chair was present at Anfield to witness Liverpool’s sixth defeat in recent outings, their eighth setback in eleven fixtures across all competitions, and a display that unravelled against a Forest side that began the match in the drop zone.

Poor Second Half and Set-Piece Woes

Van Dijk described Liverpool’s start to the second half as “not good enough” and admitted “anxiety set in” as soon as the Forest player gave Sean Dyche’s team the lead. Forest’s opener 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 facing reality and the facts are we gave away a set piece in the first half and a poor concession at the start of the second half,” stated Van Dijk. “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 difficult situation – that’s just a fact.

Captain’s Challenge: Take Responsibility

Van Dijk typically addresses the press 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 shook with anger while challenging the squad to react. “Anger is justified,” he insisted. “The main thing for me is that everyone has to take responsibility.” Asked whether that is happening, he replied: “It's unclear. But it's essential. That's crucial I want the boys 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 Broader Issues

The Merseyside club invested almost £450m to strengthen a title-winning squad 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 problems go beyond the new recruits. “It's difficult for everyone,” he said. “What I want is for each player to take responsibility on the pitch. This is necessary in order to motivate one another, to make each other better. If a teammate presses, you have to follow the effort. It’s basic things but they're lacking enough.”

Appeal to Stick Together

The Dutchman continued: “This season we don’t have any consistency, we concede far too many goals, we are losing battles and everyone is responsible for it and I hope everyone sees that. It's vital to take responsibility to turn this around and tempting to assign blame but you have to do it together. Past successes were collective and won the league and everyone was part of it, and during a challenging phase you have to stick together and avoid blaming others.

“You have to be a man and face the toughness and persist, again and again because if you want to give up then you are in the wrong environment in my eyes, because Liverpool has been going through many adversity over recent seasons and we’ve always come out of it. But it doesn’t mean it is easy, it’s exhausting but there is no other way.”

Next Fixtures

Next up in the domestic league is a trip to West Ham next weekend, after the midweek visit of the Dutch side in the European competition. He commented: “Wednesday is another game so what am I going to do, go home and cry? Certainly not, I’m going to return and try to think how we can improve results and I trust that is what everyone is doing as well.”