Virgil van Dijk makes startling admission after Liverpool and Arne Slot hit new low

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Unacceptable. Tough to take. Panic. Angry. A mess. Losing battles. Basic things. Not the words of a pundit who sees only a crisis in a string of bad results, not the words of a supporter who thinks his elite side is not allowed to lose at home, no matter how accomplished the opponents’ performance.

No, the words of Liverpool ’s captain, the team’s leader, the players’ representative, the club’s figurehead on the field. In his initial televised response to the loss to Nottingham Forest , Virgil van Dijk was suitably critical of his side’s performance.

Later, he suggested a deeper malaise had set into the Premier League champions. No names were named but the accusation was clear. Some - or all - are not pulling their weight. Attitudes need to be examined.

“At the moment it is a mess - that is just a fact,” said Van Dijk. “We are losing battles and everyone is responsible for it and I hope everyone sees that. You should be angry.

“When someone is pressing, you have to follow the press. It's basic things but it's not happening enough. You have to be mentally strong and keep going. But we didn't do that.”

The ‘losing battles’ theme was one that Van Dijk touched on more than once. He said: “Forest were physically winning so many battles against us.”

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He was at pains to stress it was a collective fault but his words will resonate with the Anfield masses who loudly bemoaned Cody Gakpo meekly losing a 50-50 confrontation in the first half. It would be very harsh to single out Gakpo for criticism but that incident typified the physical and mental weakness that streaked through this Liverpool performance.

Forest were tougher, all over the pitch. Simple as that. And all this unfolded under the watching eyes of Liverpool chairman Tom Werner.

“The main thing for me is that everyone has to take responsibility,” Van Dijk went on. “In terms of letting him (the manager) down we are definitely letting him down but we have let ourselves down as well.

“You look at yourself first and then you help each other, you help each other get out of this mess. As the champions, we can't be in the situation we are in right now but it's a fact.

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"What are we going to do about it? We're going to try to turn it around and that's the mentality everyone should have.

“You have to be a man and face the toughness and go again, again and again because if you want to give up then you are at the wrong place. This club has gone through much adversity over the years and we've always come out of it. But it doesn't mean it is easy - it's tiring but there is no other way.

“What am I going to do? Go home and cry? No, I'm going to go home and try to think how we can turn this around and hopefully that is what everyone is doing as well.”

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After Murillo had opened the scoring just after the half-hour mark, Liverpool simply folded. Arne Slot's side conceded a second to Nicolo Savona soon after the break and a third to Morgan Gibbs-White to give Sean Dyche’s side a victory margin that was far from flattering.

Van Dijk said: “We conceded and panic kicks in. As a team, you have to try to stay calm and do the right things. But we didn't do that and that's hard to accept. And the way we started the second half was just unacceptable.

“Overall, it was a very disappointing afternoon. It's the reality. I'm not a quitter. I will never quit. I will keep going but it doesn't mean it isn't tough to take.”

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