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Virgil van Dijk has issued a scathing assessment of the club's woeful title defence, admitting the reigning champions are in disarray and letting down manager Arne Slot while doubting whether all squad members is owning up for the team’s slump.

Van Dijk could not contain his frustration after the weekend's 3-0 home defeat by Nottingham Forest, a result that saw the Reds in the bottom half of the Premier League table with a deficit in goals. The club's chair was present at Anfield to observe Liverpool’s sixth defeat in recent outings, their eighth setback in eleven fixtures across every tournament, and a performance that fell apart against a opponent that started the day in the drop zone.

Poor Second Half and Set-Piece Woes

Van Dijk described Liverpool’s start to the second half as “unacceptable” and admitted “anxiety set in” as soon as the Forest player gave the visitors the lead. Forest’s opener was the ninth goal Liverpool have conceded from a set piece in the current campaign.

“There was a great build-up to the match but in a game you are facing reality and the truth is we gave away a free-kick in the opening period and a poor concession at the beginning after the break,” stated 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 crisis because at the present time it is a difficult situation – that’s just a fact.

Captain’s Challenge: Step Up

Van Dijk typically addresses the press after a match as part of his role as Liverpool captain. Saturday was different, however. His voice was much louder – audible enough that any player in the Anfield tunnel could hear him – and he expressed visible fury while urging the dressing room to react. “You should be angry,” he insisted. “The main thing for me is that everyone has to take responsibility.” Asked whether this is occurring, he answered: “I don’t know. But it's essential. That's crucial I expect the players to do. It's challenging during tough periods but we have to do it if we want to get out of this.”

Squad Investment and Team Problems

The Merseyside club spent almost £450 million to strengthen a title-winning squad in the summer but have gone backwards, with several high-profile signings failing to make an impact so far. Van Dijk insisted that Liverpool’s issues go beyond the new recruits. “It’s tough for all involved,” he said. “My expectation is for everyone to be answerable on the field. We have to do that in order to push each other, to make each other better. If a teammate presses, you have to follow the effort. These are fundamentals but they're lacking enough.”

Call for Unity

The Dutchman added: “In the current term we don’t have any steady form, we allow far too many goals, we are losing battles and everyone is responsible for it and I hope everyone sees that. We have to take responsibility to turn this around and it is easy to assign blame but unity is essential. We have been through it together and won the league and everyone was part of it, and during a tough time you must remain united and not point fingers.

“You have to be a man and confront the hardship and go again, repeatedly because surrendering is not an option then you are in the wrong environment in my eyes, because Liverpool has been enduring numerous challenges over those years and we’ve consistently emerged of it. But it doesn’t mean it is easy, it’s exhausting but there is no other way.”

Looking Ahead

The upcoming match in the domestic league is a visit to London Stadium next weekend, after the midweek visit of PSV in the Champions League. He commented: “The next game is another opportunity so what am I going to do, dwell on the loss? Certainly not, I'll go home and analyze how we can improve results and hopefully that is the collective focus as well.”