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The Liverpool skipper has delivered a scathing assessment of Liverpool's woeful championship campaign, confessing the title holders are in a mess and letting down head coach Slot while questioning whether all squad members is taking responsibility for the team’s slump.

The Dutch defender struggled to hold back his frustration after Saturday’s heavy loss at Anfield by Nottingham Forest, a result that left Liverpool in the lower section of the top-flight standings with a negative goal difference. The club's chair was in attendance to observe Liverpool’s sixth defeat in recent outings, their eighth loss in eleven fixtures across every tournament, and a performance that unravelled against a Forest side that began the match in the drop zone.

Poor Second Half and Defensive Lapses

Van Dijk described Liverpool’s opening after halftime as “unacceptable” and admitted “anxiety set in” as soon as the Forest player gave the visitors the lead. Forest’s opener 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 reality and the truth is we gave away a free-kick in the first half and a terrible goal at the start of the second half,” stated Van Dijk. “We are definitely failing the manager, but we’ve let ourselves down as well. Start with self-reflection and then you help each other, you work together to escape of this crisis because at the moment it is a mess – that's the reality.

Captain’s Challenge: Take Responsibility

The skipper typically addresses the media after a game as part of his duties as Liverpool captain. Saturday was different, however. His voice was more forceful – audible enough that any teammate in the stadium corridors could listen in – and he shook with anger while challenging the squad to react. “Anger is justified,” he emphasized. “The key point for me is that each individual has to take responsibility.” Asked whether this is occurring, Van Dijk answered: “I don’t know. But you have to do that. It’s the main thing I expect the players to do. It's challenging during tough periods but we have to do it if we aim to recover of this.”

Squad Investment and Broader Issues

The Merseyside club invested almost £450 million to strengthen a title-winning squad in the summer but have regressed, with several high-profile signings failing to make an impact so far. The captain maintained that Liverpool’s issues extend past the recent additions. “It's difficult for everyone,” he said. “My expectation is for everyone to be answerable on the pitch. 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 press. These are fundamentals but they're lacking enough.”

Call for Unity

Van Dijk continued: “This season we don’t have any consistency, we concede far too many goals, we are being out-fought and everyone is responsible for it and I hope this is recognized. We have to accept duty to turn this around and tempting to point fingers but you have to do it together. We have been through it together and claimed the title and everyone was part of it, and when you go through a challenging phase you have to stick together and avoid blaming others.

“Show character and confront the hardship and go again, repeatedly because if you want to give up then you are in the wrong environment in my view, because Liverpool has been going through numerous challenges over recent seasons and we’ve consistently emerged of it. But it doesn’t mean it is easy, it’s exhausting but there is no other way.”

Next Fixtures

Next up in the Premier League is a trip to West Ham next Sunday, after the Champions League fixture of PSV in the European competition. He commented: “The next game is another opportunity so what am I going to do, go home and cry? No, I’m going to go home and try to think how we can turn this around and hopefully that is what everyone is doing as well.”