Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk has revealed how he addressed the squad at a special players’ meeting on Monday in a bid to inject some positivity after a poor run.
The Netherlands defender, 34, felt compelled to try to lift the mood at their Kirkby training base after Manchester United inflicted a fourth successive defeat on Arne Slot’s side. And the response was emphatic as Liverpool returned to winning ways with a 5-1 victory over Eintracht Frankfurt in the Champions League on Wednesday.
“On Monday, everyone was sad because we lost to United at home. We haven’t lost many games at home during my time at Liverpool,” Van Dijk said after the win in Germany.
“It was tough under the circumstances so on Monday we came together, but it wasn’t a crisis meeting. We all know how things can change. We’re only in October.
“Obviously, we also had a proper debrief with the manager but we also had a separate one as players. I wanted to say some things. It’s not something I do after every game. Let’s keep it that way.”
Expanding on the messages he got across to his team-mates during his speech, Van Dijk said: “Nobody wants to lose four games in a row but it was the situation we faced. We had to stay calm and block out all the noise from the outside because that’s something you can’t control.
“The only way to get out of a situation like that is to stay together, keep your mind on the task ahead, try to improve, keep the confidence, embrace the moment. They are all things that are easier to say than actually do. But if you want to get out of it, you have to do it.
“We live in a world now where there is always noise, always something to be said, always someone who knows better. We have to stay focused on ourselves.
“Before my meeting, yes (the mood was low) but after my meeting, everyone was happy!”
Van Dijk scored and was named player of the match against Eintracht on Wednesday (Christian Kaspar-Bartke/Getty Images)
Van Dijk, who headed home their second goal, was pleased with Liverpool’s performance against Frankfurt as Slot’s change of formation paid off after the head coach opted to start Hugo Ekitike and Alexander Isak together up front for the first time.
“It’s something we had worked on in training since the weekend,” Van Dijk added. “We all know we have quality players who can adapt to different formations and operate in different roles. They changed their style of play a bit by trying to play like Man United did without a real striker, but we did well. We scored some really good goals.
“Hugo’s equaliser came at an important time for us. It was a great ball from Robbo (Andy Robertson) and a great finish. With the run he made, Hugo made it impossible for the defender.
“We’ll take a lot of positives from tonight but Saturday is another big challenge. We need to recover physically and mentally, and be ready for a tough one against Brentford.”