Liverpool defender Virgil Van Dijk has opened on his side’s inconsistent start to the season and has surprisingly put the blame on himself.
The Reds, led by German boss Jurgen Klopp, have won just two of their opening six Premier League games.
It hasn’t just been in their domestic league that the Merseyside giants have suffered though. While competing in the Champions League, Liverpool, although winners of the competition six times in the past, experienced an unusual 4-1 thumping against Napoli in their opening group game last week.
However, looking to finally kick start their season, Tuesday night’s game against Ajax, which ended 2-1 to the Reds, now has the potential to spark a turnaround.
Speaking to BBC Sport about the 2019-20 Premier League winner’s poor form, at least by their standards anyway, Van Dijk, who has stood in as captain for the injured Jordan Henderson, said: “If we do well I obviously get praise and if we don’t then I don’t. But I still think I need to improve and that’s fine.”
“The only way to do it is to play the games, learn from the mistakes, don’t listen to the outside world too much, speak to the people close to you.
MORE: (Video) Joe Hart purposely aims for reporter during UCL warm-up
“I’ve said it many times, we are all human beings and we all want to do as well as we can and the same goes for me. I know for a fact I can do much better, but we all can do better.
“I feel very hurt if we concede goals and don’t keep clean sheets and I feel that responsibility, but that’s a good thing.
“I want to turn this season around not for myself, but for all of us associated with the club.”
Reacting to the barrage of criticism the English giants have received, the 31-year-old centre-back went on to remind pundits that no club can win every game, week in, week out.
“What we did last week [losing against Napoli] was unacceptable, all of us, and the days after that game we definitely had a reality check,” Van Dijk added.
“The obvious criticism is there, but ex-pros and players who have played at this level know there are times when you can have a blip, a period like this unfortunately, and it is how you react to it.
“They have been in our situation and everyone has been acting like you can’t have a bad period, a difficult game or a difficult situation.
“It is too easy to say these type of things, but they are doing their job and that is what they do.”
How do you see Liverpool’s season going? – Let us know in the comments.