Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk expressed his dismay over the “chaos” surrounding his team’s season and urged his teammates to take greater accountability, stressing that they are failing head coach Arne Slot.
The team’s 3-0 loss at home to Nottingham Forest marked their sixth defeat in seven league games, leaving the reigning champions in 11th place—an unprecedented low for the club in over ten years.
Normally composed in his post-match comments, Van Dijk’s reaction to this latest setback was more urgent.
“We are certainly letting him [Slot] down, but we’ve also let ourselves down,” he said.
“You have to first look at yourself and then support one another to navigate through this mess, because it is indeed a mess — that’s a fact.”
“As the champions, we shouldn’t be in a situation like this. What will we do to change it? We need to work together to turn things around; that’s the mindset everyone should adopt.”
While Van Dijk acknowledged the anger in the locker room, he emphasized that this was not the time to turn against each other, especially with a hectic schedule of seven matches in 22 days ahead.
“It’s easy to blame others, but we must tackle this together,” he added.
“What I want is for everyone to own their role on the pitch. We need to take responsibility so we can motivate one another and improve as a team.
“During tough times, it’s easy to focus solely on your own challenges rather than the team’s needs. We’ve experienced success together, winning the league, and everyone was invested. Now, we must unite and not assign blame.”
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“One must stand tall in adversity and keep pushing forward, again and again. If you’re ready to give up, then this isn’t the right place for you because this club has faced numerous challenges over the years and has always emerged stronger.
“It’s never easy; it’s exhausting, but there’s no other path forward.
“Next up is Wednesday’s match at home against PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League. Am I going to go home and wallow? No, I’m going to think about how we can turn this around, and I hope everyone else is doing the same.”
It was just a month ago that Van Dijk convened a players-only meeting to address issues after their home loss to Manchester United.
The Dutch international hasn’t dismissed the possibility of organizing another meeting to help get the team back on track.
“I don’t plan these things, but I’ll see how I feel about it as we move forward. Hopefully, the rest of the team is also contemplating how we can improve because we recognize we are in a tough spot,” he said.
On the other hand, Nottingham Forest is riding a wave of momentum, with Murillo, Nicola Savona, and Morgan Gibbs-White each contributing to their significant victory at Anfield, boosting new manager Sean Dyche’s record to three wins, two draws, and just one loss in six matches.