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Virgil van Dijk has issued a scathing assessment of the club's disappointing championship campaign, confessing the reigning champions are in disarray and letting down manager Arne Slot while questioning whether all squad members is taking responsibility for the current downturn.

Van Dijk struggled to hold back his anger after the weekend's 3-0 home defeat by Forest, a result that left Liverpool in the lower section of the top-flight standings with a deficit in goals. The club's chair was present at Anfield to observe Liverpool’s sixth defeat in recent outings, their eighth loss in 11 matches across every tournament, and a display that fell apart against a Forest side that started the day in the relegation zone.

Poor Second Half and Set-Piece Woes

Van Dijk labeled Liverpool’s opening after halftime as “unacceptable” and admitted “panic kicked in” as soon as Murillo gave the visitors the advantage. The first goal was the ninth concession Liverpool have allowed from dead-ball situations in the current campaign.

“There was a productive three or four days’ preparation but in a fixture you are facing facts and the truth is we conceded a set piece in the first half and a terrible goal at the start of the second half,” stated the defender. “As a team, we're certainly letting him down, but we’ve disappointed ourselves as well. Start with self-reflection and then you help each other, you help each other get out of this crisis because at the present time it is a difficult situation – that's the reality.

Van Dijk’s Demands: Take Responsibility

Van Dijk usually speaks the press after a game as part of his duties as team leader. Saturday was different, however. His voice was more forceful – so loud that any player in the Anfield tunnel could hear him – and he expressed visible fury while challenging the squad to respond. “You should be angry,” he emphasized. “The key point for me is that each individual has to be accountable.” Asked whether that is happening, he answered: “I don’t know. But it's essential. That's crucial I want the boys 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 Broader Issues

Liverpool spent almost £450m to replenish a title-winning squad in the summer but have gone backwards, with new arrivals failing to make an impact so far. The captain insisted that Liverpool’s issues go beyond the recent additions. “It’s tough for everyone,” he said. “My expectation is for each player to take responsibility on the field. This is necessary in order to motivate one another, to make each other better. When someone is pressing, you must join the effort. These are fundamentals but they're lacking enough.”

Call for Unity

The Dutchman continued: “In the current term we lack any steady form, we concede excessive scores, we are losing battles and all share the blame for it and I trust everyone sees that. It's vital to take responsibility to turn this around and it is easy 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 tough time you must remain united and avoid blaming others.

“You have to be a man and confront the hardship and persist, again and again because surrendering is not an option then you are at the wrong place in my eyes, because Liverpool has been going through many adversity over those years and we’ve always come out of it. But it doesn’t mean it is straightforward, it’s tiring but there is no other way.”

Next Fixtures

The upcoming match in the domestic league is a trip to West Ham next Sunday, after the Champions League fixture 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? No, I’m going to return and analyze how we can turn this around and I trust that is the collective focus as well.”