Van Dijk calls last season 'unacceptable' and sets four demands ahead of Forest opener

Virgil van Dijk has labelled Liverpool’s previous Premier League campaign ‘unacceptable’ and called on his teammates to raise their standards quickly under new head coach Andoni Iraola, with the Reds preparing to host Nottingham Forest at Anfield on Saturday.

The Dutch captain used his matchday programme notes to address the club’s difficult 2024-25 season, which ended with Liverpool finishing fifth and Arne Slot losing his job. Iraola, formerly of Bournemouth, was appointed as Slot’s successor but has begun his tenure with a 2-2 draw at Newcastle on the opening day.

“You don’t need me to tell you that last season was tough, unacceptable in my opinion,” Van Dijk wrote. “We are better than that, much better in fact, and now we need to show it.”

The centre-back acknowledged that a period of adjustment is inevitable when a new coaching staff arrives, but made clear that patience has its limits. “When you have a new coach with new plans and new ideas, it is always going to take a bit of time to put those into practice,” he wrote. “But it is down to us to do that as quickly as we can. I can tell you that we are working extremely hard every day on the training ground, because we all want to improve, we want to be better and more consistent.”

Reflecting on the Newcastle draw, Van Dijk offered a measured assessment. “St. James’ Park is always a tough place to go, and though obviously we were not happy with the goals we conceded, I think we showed good character to twice come back. It wasn’t a victory, which is what we wanted of course, but it was a deserved point in my opinion.”

Looking ahead to Forest, Van Dijk identified four qualities he expects his side to demonstrate — togetherness, hard work, desire, and commitment — framing them as the foundation for any result. “We know how dangerous Nottingham Forest can be, and we will need to perform at our best if we want to get the three points,” he added. “If we have those — and we will — then we will give ourselves the best possible chance to show our quality and get the result we all want.”

The fixture represents Liverpool’s first home game of the season and an early opportunity for Iraola to build momentum after the opening-day stalemate.