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Virgil van Dijk has delivered a scathing assessment of Liverpool's woeful title defence, confessing the title holders are in a mess and letting down head coach Slot while questioning whether all squad members is owning up for the team’s slump.

The Dutch defender struggled to hold back his frustration after Saturday’s 3-0 home defeat by Forest, a result that left Liverpool in the bottom half of the top-flight standings with a deficit in goals. Tom Werner was in attendance to witness Liverpool’s sixth defeat in recent outings, their eighth setback in 11 matches across every tournament, and a performance that fell apart against a Forest side that began the match in the relegation zone.

Poor Second Half 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 conceded from a set piece in the current campaign.

“There was a great three or four days’ preparation but in a fixture you are facing facts and the facts are we conceded a set piece in the first half and a poor concession at the beginning after the break,” stated Van Dijk. “As a team, we're definitely letting him down, but we’ve disappointed ourselves as well. Start with self-reflection and then you support teammates, you work together to escape of this crisis because at the moment it is a difficult situation – that's the reality.

Van Dijk’s Demands: Take Responsibility

The skipper usually speaks the media after a game as part of his role as Liverpool captain. Saturday was different, however. His voice was much louder – audible enough that any teammate in the stadium corridors could listen in – and he shook with anger while urging the dressing room to react. “Anger is justified,” he insisted. “The key point for me is that everyone has to take responsibility.” 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 challenging during tough periods but we must act if we want to get out of this.”

Summer Signings and Team Problems

The Merseyside club invested almost £450 million to strengthen a championship-winning team in the summer but have gone backwards, with several high-profile signings failing to make an impact so far. The captain insisted that Liverpool’s issues extend past the recent additions. “It’s tough for all involved,” he said. “My expectation is for each player to take responsibility on the pitch. We have to do that in order to motivate one another, to make each other better. If a teammate presses, you must join the effort. It’s basic things but they're lacking enough.”

Call for Unity

Van Dijk added: “This season we don’t have any consistency, we concede far too many goals, we are being out-fought and everyone is responsible for it and I trust this is recognized. It's vital to take responsibility to reverse the situation and it is easy to point fingers but unity is essential. We have been through it together and won the league and everyone was part of it, and when you go through a tough time you must remain united and not point fingers.

“You have to be a man and face the toughness and persist, repeatedly because surrendering is not an option then you are at the wrong place in my view, because this club has been enduring 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 no other way.”

Next Fixtures

Next up in the domestic league is a trip to West Ham next weekend, after the midweek visit of the Dutch side in the Champions League. He commented: “Wednesday is another game so how should I respond, go home and cry? No, I’m going to go home and analyze how we can turn this around and hopefully that is the collective focus as well.”