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Virgil van Dijk has delivered a scathing evaluation of the club's disappointing championship campaign, confessing the title holders are in disarray and letting down manager Arne Slot while questioning whether all squad members is owning up for the team’s slump.

Van Dijk struggled to hold back his frustration after the weekend's 3-0 home defeat by Forest, a result that saw the Reds in the lower section of the Premier League table with a negative goal difference. The club's chair was in attendance to witness Liverpool’s latest loss in seven league games, their eighth setback in 11 matches across all competitions, and a performance that unravelled against a Forest side that began the match in the drop zone.

“Unacceptable” Start and Defensive Lapses

Van Dijk described Liverpool’s opening after halftime as “not good enough” and admitted “panic kicked in” as soon as the Forest player gave the visitors the advantage. Forest’s opener was the ninth concession Liverpool have allowed from dead-ball situations in the current campaign.

“There was a great build-up to the match but in a game you are facing reality and the facts are we conceded a free-kick in the first half and a terrible goal at the start of the second half,” said Van Dijk. “As a team, we're certainly failing the manager, but we’ve let ourselves down as well. You look at yourself first and then you support teammates, you work together to escape of this crisis because at the moment it is a difficult situation – that’s just a fact.

Captain’s Challenge: Take Responsibility

Van Dijk usually speaks the press after a match as part of his duties as Liverpool captain. Saturday was different, however. His voice was more forceful – so loud that any teammate in the Anfield tunnel could listen in – and he shook with anger while urging the dressing room to react. “You should be angry,” he insisted. “The key point for me is that everyone has to be accountable.” Asked whether this is occurring, he replied: “I don’t know. But it's essential. That's crucial I expect the players to do. It’s not easy during difficult times but we must act if we want to get out of this.”

Summer Signings and Broader Issues

The Merseyside club invested almost £450m to strengthen a championship-winning team in the off-season but have regressed, with new arrivals failing to make an impact so far. The captain maintained that Liverpool’s problems go beyond the new recruits. “It's difficult for all involved,” he said. “What I want is for each player to take responsibility on the pitch. This is necessary in order to push each other, to improve collectively. When someone is pressing, you must join the press. 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 everyone sees that. It's vital to accept duty to reverse the situation and it is easy to point fingers but unity is essential. Past successes were collective and claimed the title and all contributed, and during a challenging phase you have to stick together and not point fingers.

“You have to be a man and face the toughness and persist, again and again 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 those years and we’ve consistently emerged of it. However, that doesn't imply it is straightforward, it’s tiring but there is only one path forward.”

Looking Ahead

The upcoming match in the domestic league is a visit to London Stadium next weekend, after the midweek visit of PSV in the European competition. He commented: “The next game is another opportunity so what am I going to do, dwell on the loss? No, I'll go home and analyze how we can improve results and hopefully that is the collective focus as well.”