Van Dijk Asks Players To Take Responsibility For Disappointing Arne Slot In Central Season

Virgil van Dijk plans to meet with the players again to return Liverpool to the right path (Instagram/@liverpoolfc).

JAKARTA - Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk lamented his team's messy season and asked all players to start taking more responsibility. He insisted that they had disappointed Arne Slot's manager.

The 0-3 home defeat to Nottingham Forest on Saturday, November 22, 2025 - the sixth defeat of seven league games - left the reigning champions in 11th place, for the first time in more than a decade the club are in the bottom half of the standings.

Van Dijk usually gives a calm assessment after the game, but the latest defeats are pushing for a more appropriate response.

"We're clearly disappointing him (Arne Slot), but we're also disappointing ourselves. We'll see ourselves first, then help each other, help each other out of this mess because right now it's a mess, that's a fact."

"As champions, we shouldn't be in a situation like this. What are we going to do? We will try to turn things around and that's the mentality that everyone should have," he said.

Van Dijk acknowledged there was outrage in the dressing room, but after the first match of seven in 22 days, he said it was not time to blame each other.

"It's easy to blame, but we have to do it together. All I want is everyone to be responsible on the pitch."

"We have to do that to encourage each other, to make each other better. It might be easy to just think about your own situation instead of thinking about the collective side when things don't go well."

"We've gone through it together and won the league. Everyone is part of it and happy. When you go through a difficult time, you have to stay united and not blame anyone."

"You have to be a real man and face those difficulties and keep fighting, again and again."

"If you want to give up, you're in the wrong place in my eyes because this club has been going through a lot of trouble over the years and we've always managed to get out of it."

"However, that doesn't mean it's easy, it's tiring, but there's no other way. Thursday (27 November 2025 WIB at home against PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League) is another game."

"So, what am I going to do, go home and cry? No, I'm going home and trying to think about how we can turn things around. Hopefully that's what everyone is also doing," he said.

About a month ago Van Dijk held a meeting of players to calm the atmosphere after the home defeat to Manchester United.

The Dutchman did not rule out the possibility of holding another meeting in an effort to get things back on track.

"I haven't planned these things yet, but let's see how I think of them later. Hopefully other players will also think about how we can turn things around because I think the realization is that we are in a very difficult moment," he said.