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Virgil van Dijk has issued a blunt assessment of Liverpool's woeful championship campaign, confessing the title holders are in a mess and failing head coach Slot while doubting whether all squad members is taking responsibility for the current downturn.

The Dutch defender struggled to hold back his frustration after the weekend's 3-0 home defeat by Forest, a result that saw the Reds in the bottom half of the top-flight standings with a negative goal difference. The club's chair was in attendance to observe Liverpool’s sixth defeat in seven league games, their eighth setback in 11 matches across every tournament, and a performance that unravelled against a Forest side that began the match in the drop zone.

Poor Second Half and Defensive Lapses

The captain described Liverpool’s opening after halftime as “not good enough” 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 current campaign.

“We had a productive three or four days’ preparation 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 the defender. “As a team, we're certainly failing the manager, but we’ve let ourselves down as well. Start with self-reflection and then you help each other, you help each other get out of this crisis because at the moment it is a difficult situation – that’s just a fact.

Captain’s Challenge: Step Up

The skipper typically addresses the media after a match as part of his role as team leader. Saturday was different, however. His voice 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 key point for me is that everyone has to take responsibility.” Asked whether that is happening, he replied: “It's unclear. But you have to do that. That's crucial I expect the boys to do. It’s not easy during difficult times but we have to do it if we want to get out of this.”

Summer Signings and Team Problems

The Merseyside club invested almost £450m to replenish a title-winning squad in the summer but have gone backwards, with several high-profile signings struggling to contribute so far. The captain insisted that Liverpool’s issues go beyond the new recruits. “It’s tough for everyone,” he said. “My expectation is for each player to take responsibility on the pitch. We have to do that in order to push each other, to make each other better. When someone is pressing, you must join the effort. It’s basic things but they're lacking enough.”

Call for Unity

The Dutchman continued: “In the current term we don’t have any consistency, we concede excessive scores, we are being out-fought and everyone is responsible for it and I trust everyone sees that. It's vital to take responsibility to turn this around and tempting to assign blame but you have to do it together. Past successes were collective and claimed the title and all contributed, and during a challenging phase you must remain united and avoid blaming others.

“Show character and face the toughness and go again, again and again because surrendering is not an option then you are in the wrong environment in my view, because Liverpool has been going through many adversity over those years and we’ve always come out of it. However, that doesn't imply it is easy, it’s exhausting but there is only one path forward.”

Next Fixtures

Next up in the Premier League is a trip to West Ham next weekend, after the midweek visit of PSV in the Champions League. Van Dijk said: “Wednesday is another opportunity so how should I respond, dwell on the loss? No, I’m going to return and try to think how we can improve results and hopefully that is what everyone is doing as well.”