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The Liverpool skipper has delivered a scathing evaluation of Liverpool's woeful title defence, confessing the title holders are in disarray and letting down head coach Slot while questioning whether every player is taking responsibility for the current downturn.

Van Dijk struggled to hold back 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 negative goal difference. Tom Werner was in attendance to observe Liverpool’s sixth defeat in recent outings, their eighth loss in eleven fixtures across all competitions, and a performance that fell apart against a Forest side that began the match in the relegation zone.

Poor Second Half and Set-Piece Woes

The captain described Liverpool’s opening after halftime as “unacceptable” and admitted “panic kicked in” as soon as the Forest player gave Sean Dyche’s team the advantage. Forest’s opener was the ninth goal Liverpool have allowed from dead-ball situations in the Premier League this season.

“We had a great three or four days’ preparation but in a fixture you are facing reality and the truth is we gave away a set piece in the opening period and a terrible goal at the start of the second half,” said Van Dijk. “We are certainly letting him down, but we’ve disappointed ourselves as well. You look at yourself first and then you help each other, you help each other get out of this crisis because at the present time it is a mess – that’s just a fact.

Van Dijk’s Demands: Step Up

Van Dijk typically addresses the media after a game as part of his duties as team leader. Saturday was different, however. He spoke was much louder – so loud that any teammate in the stadium corridors could hear him – and he expressed visible fury while challenging the squad to respond. “You should be angry,” he insisted. “The main thing for me is that everyone has to be accountable.” When questioned whether this is occurring, he answered: “It's unclear. But you have to do that. That's crucial 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 Broader Issues

The Merseyside club invested almost £450 million to replenish a championship-winning team in the off-season but have gone backwards, with several high-profile signings failing to make an impact so far. Van Dijk maintained that Liverpool’s issues extend past the recent additions. “It's difficult for all involved,” 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 have to follow the effort. These are fundamentals but they're lacking enough.”

Call for Unity

The Dutchman continued: “In the current term we don’t have any steady form, we concede excessive scores, we are being out-fought and all share the blame for it and I trust this is recognized. We have to take responsibility to turn this around and tempting 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 challenging phase you must remain united and avoid blaming others.

“You have to be a man and face the toughness and go again, again and again because if you want to give up then you are at the wrong place in my view, because Liverpool has been going through numerous challenges over those years 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.”

Looking Ahead

The upcoming match in the domestic league is a visit to London Stadium next Sunday, after the Champions League fixture of PSV in the Champions League. He said: “Wednesday is another game so how should I respond, go home and cry? No, I’m going to go home and analyze how we can turn this around and I trust that is the collective focus as well.”