Liverpool star admits criticism over his performances this season have been right

Liverpool star admits criticism over his performances this season have been right

Virgil van Dijk has owned up to his poor performances this season as he admitted criticism over his displays have been correct.

The Dutch defender has struggled for form this campaign, which has coincided with the Reds’ underwhelming season.

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Liverpool defender Van Dijk has been subject to criticism this season

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Liverpool go into Sunday’s clash at Anfield against Tottenham sitting in seventh spot.

Victory over the north Londoners would keep their faint top four hopes alive, but it seems likely the Merseyside outfit will be competing in the Europa League next term.

Liverpool have been uncharacteristically sloppy at the back at times, with Van Dijk singled out for criticism.

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talkSPORT’s Jason Cundy has labelled the 31-year-old as ‘overrated’, while Van Dijk’s compatriot Marco van Basten hit out at his leadership abilities.

And Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher declared in February that he believes he would get in ahead of the ex-Southampton man on current form.

Speaking to The Times, Van Dijk has accepted his performances have been substandard.

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Van Dijk has accepted his performances have been below-par this term

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He said: “No one is immune to criticism. If someone said that, they are lying.

“But when the criticism is there and you know it is right, the only thing you can do is keep your head down and focus on improving

“I know my performance has been going like the team has been going — up and down. I know I’m one of the players who is looked at, that I set a high standard over the last five years that it’s normal to be criticised.

“The only thing I can do is block the noise out and focus on how I deal with certain situations to be better.

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Van Dijk joined Liverpool midway through the 2017-18 season

“Over the past five years, excluding the year of my injury [the 2020-21 season where a knee injury limited him to seven appearances], I’ve been playing every three or four days to such a consistent level.

“I’m trying to get back to that — and I will get back it. I’m not worried about that.”