Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk: We’re letting Slot down amid ‘mess’ of a season
LIVERPOOL, England – Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk said the squad must “take responsibility” for the club’s alarming dip in form after a 3-0 home defeat to Nottingham Forest on Saturday left the defending Premier League champions 11th in the table.
The loss — Liverpool’s sixth in seven league matches — marked the first time in more than a decade the club have dropped into the bottom half, prompting Van Dijk to deliver one of his most candid post-match assessments.
“We are definitely letting him down, but we’ve let ourselves down as well,” Van Dijk said, referring to head coach Arne Slot. “We have to help each other get out of this mess because at the moment it is a mess — that’s just a fact.”
Liverpool’s usually composed captain acknowledged tension inside the dressing room but stressed the need for unity as the club enters a packed run of seven fixtures in 22 days. “It is easy to point fingers, but you have to do it together,” he said. “Everyone has to take responsibility on the pitch. You push each other, you make each other better.”
The defeat continued a worrying pattern for the champions, who have struggled to adapt to Slot’s system during a period of injuries, loss of form and defensive instability. Van Dijk, who led a back line that conceded three at Anfield, said players must avoid focusing on individual frustrations. “It’s easy to think about your own situation when things aren’t going well,” he said. “But when you go through tough times, you have to stick together and not point fingers.”
Liverpool face PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League on Wednesday, and Van Dijk said the squad must respond quickly. “What am I going to do, go home and cry? No. I’ll go home and think about how we can turn this around,” he said.
The defender did not rule out calling another players-only meeting, having organised one after last month’s defeat to Manchester United. “Let’s see how I feel about it, but everyone realises we are in a very difficult moment,” he said.
While Liverpool continue to search for solutions, Forest benefited from a composed display under new manager Sean Dyche. Goals from Murillo, Nicola Savona and Morgan Gibbs-White sealed Forest’s biggest-ever win at Anfield and extended Dyche’s run to three wins, two draws and one defeat in six matches.
Liverpool, champions just months ago, now face the challenge of restoring confidence and stability as pressure grows on both Slot and the squad to halt the decline.