-
Beth Lindop
Virgil van Dijk has insisted there is no «disharmony» in the Liverpool dressing room and said that criticism on social media will be a «very big challenge» for the next generation of players.
It has been a turbulent season so far for Liverpool, who currently sit sixth in the Premier League table. The Reds were winless in five league games before Saturday’s 4-1 victory over Newcastle United, with head coach Arne Slot having faced a lot of external scrutiny in recent weeks.
«It’s like us players as well — if you don’t perform you get criticism and that’s part and parcel of the game,» Van Dijk said. «We have to perform. That’s what we didn’t do on a consistent basis but we speak about that every three or four days unfortunately.
«On Saturday was a good performance and the same for midweek [against Qarabag]. Now it’s down to us to work this week on Man City and do that again.»
Asked whether Slot deserves more respect considering he won the title last season, Van Dijk said: «Who gives him the disrespect? That’s the question. Is the disrespect being given by people that we shouldn’t value their disrespect?
«I can also think about players being disrespected, and who disrespects the players? Is that someone you value, is it a significant show of disrespect or someone you can just let slide and instead just focus on the task ahead to be successful as a Liverpool player? That’s the responsibility we speak about every three or four days.
«If you’re going to read all that stuff [on social media], one week you could be the hero and the next week the villain. I spoke last week about how [much] worse and difficult it’s getting every year. For the next generation it will be a very big challenge.
«Every era has it’s own challenges and that part of outside the game will be a big challenge for the next generation, and it’s already a challenge for this generation.»
– Man City, Villa win transfer window; Liverpool biggest losers
– Was 2026 January transfer window biggest ever in Premier League? Where did it rank?
– Sources: Cristiano Ronaldo dispute with PIF behind Al Nassr absence
Van Dijk added: «The matter of fact is we are Premier League champions and we have not been good enough on a consistent basis. That’s just a fact. The criticism comes and that’s something we just have to accept. We just have to keep going.
«I don’t think there has been any question about [togetherness] internally. I don’t think there’s any disharmony. There are obviously challenges that happen and everyone is dealing with certain situations in a different way.
«It’s also about dealing with it together and how we are going to fix it and change things around.
«That’s something that makes you stronger as a team and if you come out of it like we should do hopefully as we have the quality then I think it can only improve you as a team and as a player as well.»
