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

Van Dijk could not contain his frustration after the weekend's 3-0 home defeat by Forest, a result that left Liverpool in the bottom half of the Premier League table with a deficit in goals. The club's chair was in attendance to witness Liverpool’s latest loss in seven league games, their eighth loss in eleven fixtures across every tournament, and a performance that fell apart against a Forest side that started the day in the drop zone.

“Unacceptable” Start and Set-Piece Woes

Van Dijk labeled Liverpool’s start to the second half as “unacceptable” and admitted “panic kicked in” as soon as Murillo gave the visitors the lead. The first goal was the ninth concession Liverpool have conceded from a set piece in the current campaign.

“We had a great build-up to the match but in a fixture you are facing facts and the truth is we conceded a free-kick in the opening period and a poor concession at the start of the second half,” stated the defender. “We are definitely letting him down, 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 mess because at the present time it is a mess – that's the reality.

Van Dijk’s Demands: Take Responsibility

The skipper typically addresses the media after a game as part of his duties as team leader. Saturday was different, however. He spoke was much louder – audible enough that any player in the Anfield tunnel could hear him – and he expressed visible fury while challenging the dressing room to respond. “Anger is justified,” he emphasized. “The key point for me is that everyone has to take responsibility.” When questioned whether that is happening, he replied: “It's unclear. But you have to do that. It’s the main thing I want the boys 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

Liverpool spent almost £450 million to strengthen a championship-winning team in the summer but have regressed, with several high-profile signings failing to make an impact so far. Van Dijk maintained that Liverpool’s issues extend past the new recruits. “It's difficult for everyone,” he said. “What I want is for each player to be answerable on the field. We have to do that in order to push each other, to improve collectively. If a teammate presses, you must join the effort. It’s basic things but they're lacking enough.”

Appeal to Stick Together

The Dutchman continued: “In the current term we don’t have any consistency, we allow excessive scores, we are being out-fought and everyone is responsible for it and I trust everyone sees that. It's vital 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 all contributed, and during a challenging phase you have to stick together and avoid blaming others.

“You have to be a man and confront the hardship and persist, repeatedly because if you want to give up then you are in the wrong environment in my view, because this club has been going through many adversity over recent seasons and we’ve always come out of it. However, that doesn't imply it is easy, it’s tiring but there is no other way.”

Looking Ahead

The upcoming match in the domestic league is a trip to West Ham next Sunday, after the Champions League fixture of the Dutch side in the European competition. He said: “Wednesday is another game so what am I going to do, go home and cry? No, I’m going to return and analyze how we can turn this around and hopefully that is the collective focus as well.”