Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk has slammed the “stupid comments” and negative “outside noise” he and his team-mates have had to deal with during their recent losing streak.
Having suffered four straight Premier League defeats and six defeats in seven games in all competitions, the Reds finally got back to winning ways on Saturday night against Aston Villa, winning 2-0 at Anfield.
Use Chrome Browser for a more accessible video player
Watch for free: Premier League match highlights between Liverpool and Aston Villa.
Asked about how difficult it was to maintain morale and focus as the leader of the group during difficult times, Van Dijk told TNT Sport: “What I’ve realized, especially in the last few weeks, is that there’s a lot of noise that you can’t control and you have to deal with it as a team.
“Some of those takes are completely ridiculous. But we have to deal with it. It’s outside noise that can get to certain players or groups. It’s important to stick together.”
“We’re not going to go on the pitch to lose the game, we’re not going to go on the pitch to be disappointed after the game or let the fans go home disappointed. We want to win the game by our socks off. But there’s no guarantee of that. It’s difficult to stay calm because we’re playing in the highest level of the Premier League, the biggest league in the world, but we have to if we want to get back to where we want to be. That’s it. But it’s something to consider in the second half of the season.”
“Now is the time to keep trying, never get too high or too low.
“We live in a world now, at least for footballers, where that’s the only world I can speak for, where everyone can voice their opinion on so many platforms and everyone knows it so well. We have to try to distance ourselves from that and focus on the hard work we’ve done.
“I didn’t hear a lot of negative things last season. Everything was sunny and there were rainbows everywhere. It seemed to the outside world right now that we were going to be in a relegation battle, so that’s just how things are in the world.”
Slott: Not only the team but also the fans supported me.
Liverpool manager Arne Slott was asked about the support of the home fans at Anfield on Saturday and said he felt his players, and always himself, needed that support after being criticized for his poor form.
“Of course, a lot,” Slott said of how much the fans helped. “Especially because it happened 0-0, not when you’re leading or at the top of the league, but when you’re in a difficult situation as a club, as a team, and I’m definitely part of that, so it’s a difficult situation for me as well.
“And I think having the support that I got, not just the players, is what makes this club special. They remember if you were part of something special and they help you, especially when things get tough.”
“And that’s been the case over the last few weeks. Things were difficult and we weren’t winning, by the way, we were losing. So they felt the players needed a little bit of support, maybe even me. That’s what you get from the fans.”
