Virgil van Dijk's Blunt Message to Liverpool: A Call for Change
Virgil van Dijk has drawn a hard line under last season and sent a blunt message to Liverpool’s dressing room: what happened under Arne Slot cannot happen again.
On the eve of the new Premier League campaign, the Liverpool captain called last year “unacceptable” and demanded a response as the Andoni Iraola era begins with a daunting trip to Newcastle United on Sunday.
Liverpool went into 2024/25 as champions of England. They ended it bruised. Twelve league defeats, 20 losses in all competitions and a limp slide to fifth on the final day told the story of a title defence that never really caught fire, even if Champions League qualification was salvaged at the end.
Slot paid the price within a week of the season finishing. Liverpool moved quickly, turning to Andoni Iraola, the Basque coach who had just left Bournemouth and was available. He signed a two-year deal in early June, and pre-season has already offered a glimpse of what is coming: higher tempo, more risk, more front-foot football.
Van Dijk, now heading into his 10th season at Anfield, likes what he has seen. But he made it clear that a change in the dugout is only part of the story.
“For me personally, being a Liverpool player, last year was unacceptable,” he said. “But that is last year. This year we have an opportunity to turn that around, together with our fans.
“And we all know how tough that will be but if you don't up for the challenge, then you're not at the right place. What I feel at the moment is everyone is up for the challenge. Let's see how we go about it.
“But I'm really looking forward to this season and I don't think we have a point to prove to anyone. We have to show how much we care, how much we want to fight for this badge and also realise how privileged we are to be playing for Liverpool.”
The excitement around Iraola’s methods is real inside the camp. Van Dijk pointed to the impact the 42-year-old had on the south coast.
“If you look at Bournemouth last year (under Iraola), I think they were pretty exciting,” he said.
The blueprint is clear enough. Work, belief, quality, fitness – and wins. Lots of them.
“I would say if we keep working, keep believing, keep showing our quality, staying fit, and hopefully win a lot of games then we can be very excited. That's the aim, that’s what we fight for, but we all know how tough it is.
“We all know how tough it is to be playing Premier League football, to be playing on all four fronts, but you have to embrace it. You have to enjoy the ride.
“We are all so blessed here and we have to keep going and enjoy it and that's what I will do, and I encourage everyone to do that as well. That's what I keep saying to the boys as well so let's see.”
At the heart of Iraola’s rebuild sits a key decision: who partners Van Dijk at centre-back. The Liverpool captain will line up with a new defensive ally, with the manager weighing up whether to throw £60m signing Jeremy Jacquet straight in or lean on the experience of Ronald Araujo, brought in on loan from Barcelona earlier this month.
What is not in doubt is the need for depth. Van Dijk knows the demands of a season on four fronts and did not hide his expectations for the remainder of the window.
“We need a squad that is able to compete on all four fronts and that’s the only way to try to be successful,” the Netherlands captain said. “Let’s see what the last couple of weeks of the transfer window will bring and then let’s go for it.”
The verdict is simple. Last season shamed Liverpool’s standards. Under Iraola, Van Dijk expects the response to be just as stark.
