Virgil van Dijk: Liverpool players willing to 'go to war' for each other

Dutchman praised compatriot Arne Slot for subtle changes he has made to squad he inherited from former boss Jurgen Klopp

Liverpool's Virgil van Dijk applauds fans after the victory over Manchester City. Reuters

Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk believes the reason behind the Reds' early season success is the players buying into new coach Arne Slot's ideas and a willingness to "go to war" for each other.

Since replacing Jurgen Klopp over the summer, Slot has presided over a record start as Liverpool boss, winning 18 of 20 games.

Netherlands defender Van Dijk believes his compatriot inherited a talented squad from Klopp, while also implementing subtle changes.

Never was that more evident than in Sunday's 2-0 victory over Manchester City which took the Reds 11 points clear of their main rivals and nine points ahead of Arsenal and Chelsea in the Premier League title race.

“I think it was always going to be difficult to replace Jurgen for everything he did for us, as players and for the club, but he [Slot] has come in, done it his own way,” said Van Dijk.

“Together with the staff he started working and making sure we have the quality to improve and win games.

“But he makes sure we keep working, are not satisfied, focus on what is ahead of us next and keep improving.

“I think the step from, with all respect, the Dutch league to the Premier League is a big one obviously in terms of being a player but for a manager it is exactly the same.

“He has come in and done very well so far and he has, in my opinion, inherited a very good squad not only as football players but as human beings – guys who will go to war for each other.

“[He has done] a lot of tactical work but at the end of the day it is about how much we want it as players. What do you want to achieve as a group?

“We want to be successful and in order to be successful it is about all the hard work you put in on a daily basis to win games.

“You will have times in games when you will struggle and there were times [against City] when we had to defend deep but we have the quality to do that as well.

“You don’t want to be frustrated and every time this season we have found an answer to difficult moments and that’s the key to success so hopefully we can keep that going.”

Liverpool’s nine-point cushion is their biggest margin as Premier League leaders since the final day of the 2019/20 campaign, when they had already won the title and were 18 ahead of City.

However, Van Dijk said no-one was thinking any further ahead than Wednesday’s trip to Newcastle United.

“We speak about this almost every week. The thing is we are on matchday 13,” he added.

“We want to be consistent, we want to keep winning games, we don’t want to have injuries – unfortunately we have again some so we need everyone to focus on what’s ahead of us but not what’s ahead of us in the next month, now Newcastle is the full focus.

“I want to be there at the end of the season, that’s the aim, and in order to be there at the end of the season we have to focus on what’s ahead of us and not thinking about what’s there in January or February.

“Now it’s Newcastle and [it’s about] doing everything in my power and our power to be ready for a big one there as well.”