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The Liverpool skipper has delivered a scathing assessment of the club's disappointing championship campaign, admitting the title holders are in disarray 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 anger after the weekend's 3-0 home defeat by Forest, a result that left Liverpool in the lower section of the Premier League table with a deficit in goals. The club's chair was present at Anfield to witness Liverpool’s latest loss in seven league games, their eighth setback in 11 matches across every tournament, and a display that unravelled against a Forest side that started the day in the relegation zone.

Poor Second Half and Set-Piece Woes

The captain described Liverpool’s opening after halftime as “not good enough” and admitted “panic kicked in” as soon as Murillo gave the visitors the lead. Forest’s opener was the ninth concession Liverpool have allowed from dead-ball situations in the Premier League this season.

“There was a productive three or four days’ preparation but in a game you are dealing with facts and the facts are we conceded a free-kick in the first half and a poor concession at the start of the second half,” stated the defender. “As a team, we're certainly 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 difficult situation – that’s just a fact.

Van Dijk’s Demands: Take Responsibility

The skipper typically addresses the press after a match as part of his duties as team leader. Saturday was different, however. He spoke was more forceful – audible enough that any player in the Anfield tunnel could hear him – and he shook with anger while urging the squad to respond. “You should be angry,” he insisted. “The key point for me is that each individual has to take responsibility.” When questioned whether this is occurring, he replied: “It's unclear. But it's essential. It’s the main thing I want 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.”

Squad Investment and Broader Issues

Liverpool invested almost £450m to replenish a title-winning squad in the summer but have regressed, with several high-profile signings struggling to contribute so far. Van Dijk insisted that Liverpool’s issues go beyond the recent additions. “It's difficult for everyone,” he said. “My expectation is for each player to take responsibility on the field. This is necessary in order to motivate one another, to improve collectively. If a teammate presses, you must join the effort. These are fundamentals but they're lacking enough.”

Call for Unity

Van Dijk continued: “In the current term we lack any consistency, we concede excessive scores, we are losing battles and all share the blame for it and I hope everyone sees that. We have to take responsibility to reverse the situation 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 tough time you must remain united and not point fingers.

“Show character and confront the hardship and persist, again and again because if you want to give up then you are in the wrong environment in my view, because this club has been going through numerous challenges over recent seasons and we’ve always come out of it. But it doesn’t mean it is easy, it’s exhausting but there is no other way.”

Looking Ahead

The upcoming match in the Premier League is a trip to West Ham next weekend, after the Champions League fixture of PSV in the Champions League. Van Dijk said: “Wednesday is another game so how should I respond, go home and cry? Certainly not, I’m going to go home and analyze how we can improve results and hopefully that is the collective focus as well.”