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The Liverpool skipper has issued a scathing assessment of the club's woeful championship campaign, admitting the title holders are in disarray and failing manager Arne Slot while questioning whether all squad members is taking responsibility for the team’s slump.

Van Dijk struggled to hold back his frustration after Saturday’s 3-0 home defeat by Nottingham Forest, a result that saw the Reds in the bottom half of the top-flight standings with a deficit in goals. Tom Werner was in attendance to observe Liverpool’s sixth defeat in recent outings, their eighth loss in eleven fixtures across every tournament, and a display that fell apart against a opponent that started the day in the relegation zone.

“Unacceptable” Start and Set-Piece Woes

The captain described Liverpool’s opening after halftime as “not good enough” and admitted “panic kicked in” as soon as Murillo gave the visitors the advantage. The first goal was the ninth concession Liverpool have conceded from a set piece in the current campaign.

“There was a productive three or four days’ preparation but in a game you are facing reality and the truth is we gave away a set piece in the opening period and a poor concession at the start of the second half,” stated the defender. “We are definitely failing the manager, but we’ve disappointed ourselves 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 mess – that’s just a fact.

Captain’s Challenge: Step Up

The skipper usually speaks the media after a game as part of his duties as team leader. Saturday was different, however. He spoke was more forceful – audible enough that any player in the Anfield tunnel could listen in – and he expressed visible fury while challenging the squad to react. “Anger is justified,” he insisted. “The key point for me is that everyone has to take responsibility.” When questioned whether this is occurring, he replied: “I don’t know. But you have to do that. It’s the main thing I want the boys to do. It's challenging during difficult times but we must act if we aim to recover of this.”

Squad Investment and Team Problems

The Merseyside club invested almost £450 million to strengthen a championship-winning team in the off-season but have gone backwards, with several high-profile signings struggling to contribute so far. Van Dijk insisted that Liverpool’s issues go beyond the recent additions. “It's difficult for everyone,” he said. “What I want is for each player to take responsibility on the pitch. We have to do that in order to motivate one another, to improve collectively. When someone is pressing, you must join the effort. These are fundamentals but it’s not happening enough.”

Call for Unity

The Dutchman added: “This season we don’t have any consistency, we allow excessive scores, we are losing battles and all share the blame for it and I hope this is recognized. We have to take responsibility 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 all contributed, and when you go through a tough time you have to stick together and not point fingers.

“You have to be a man and confront the hardship and persist, repeatedly because surrendering is not an option then you are in the wrong environment in my eyes, because this club has been enduring numerous challenges over recent seasons and we’ve always come out of it. But it doesn’t mean it is easy, it’s exhausting but there is no other way.”

Next Fixtures

The upcoming match in the Premier League is a trip to West Ham next Sunday, after the midweek visit of PSV in the European competition. Van Dijk said: “Wednesday is another game so what am I going to do, go home and cry? No, I'll go home and try to think how we can improve results and hopefully that is the collective focus as well.”