Virgil van Dijk issued a strong rebuke to questions over the amount of downtime that Liverpool players were given in the days leading up to their 3-2 defeat to Manchester United.
With the Reds having eight days to prepare for the game at Old Trafford, a few members of Arne Slot’s squad were pictured enjoying short getaways around England and Europe.
However, with the season being a particularly chastening one for LFC and Champions League football not yet secured, several prominent journalists – including James Pearce (The Athletic), David Lynch and Paul Gorst (Liverpool Echo) – have openly questioned the head coach’s training regime ahead of such an important fixture.
Speaking after the loss to Man United, Van Dijk bristled at one reporter’s question about the Liverpool squad having ‘a few days off’ in the week leading up to the game.
He answered (via Mail Sport): “A few days off? You mean one day off?”, adding: “I think if you have one day off, and you don’t have many days off, they decide what they want to do with their families. We are not kids. Everyone is an adult.
“This week we have an early kick-off on Saturday [v Chelsea], so preparation is on that. Yesterday we were in a hotel. Today we played, so two days away [from] the family again. It’s not that we have a holiday whatsoever.”
Replying to claims that Liverpool haven’t been training enough, Van Dijk said: “Really? I wish we had a couple more days off at times because I think it works both ways. You see Pep Guardiola giving [Manchester] City three days off the last weeks in a row and they are doing pretty well.”
Want more Empire of the Kop coverage? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list for news you can trust
It shouldn’t be forgotten that elite footballers have personal lives, with many of them having young families from whom they spent a lot of time away during the season, given the ever-increasing demands on players at the highest level.
Liverpool have had numerous instances of playing three matches in a week over the past few months, and a number of Reds players (including Van Dijk) will be representing their countries at the World Cup in a few weeks’ time.
It’s only right that footballers are allowed the freedom to switch off from the demands of elite sport and enjoy downtime with family, although the questions about LFC’s preparations for the Man United game are legitimate.
A post shared by Alexis Mac Allister (@alemacallister)
Considering how badly this season has gone, the optics of allowing players to jet off around Europe in the days leading up to a fixture against our arch-rivals are rather poor, especially when we haven’t yet qualified for the Champions League.
It was one thing for Liverpool to have a jolly-up this time last year after the Premier League title had already been secured. It’s another to be seemingly underprepared for an important game against a major rival, especially amid a dreadful campaign.
The only way Van Dijk and his teammates will dispel the questioning over what they’ve been doing off the pitch is by putting in strong performances and earning positive results on it.
Welcome to our Live Comments section, where new comments will appear automatically
Im not sure why the families are not staying with the footballers. Jurgen klopp certainly had his wife with him in Liverpool.
Its symptomatic of the decline since klopp left. A Dutch mentality, easy going, laid back, time off.
Go and read what milner said about klopps first training session with the players where some of them threw up because of the demands from the manager
Everything you get on the pitch from the players, the standard is set in training.
Nearly every game, again Manchester United was another, we are getting out run. Second best in tackles won , second best in duels won , second best in Ariel balls.
Liverpool have turned into a Dutch team with a Dutch mentality who are easy to play against, easy to score against, with no leadership from the manager or the captain on the pitch.
A five a side team, that’s plays pretty football but doesn’t like the defensive side. Like a box of milk tray..
Too many soft centres, starting with wirtz.
If yesterday didn’t hurt then we as a club are finished. Beaten twice by probably the worst Manchester United team in premier league history.
If FSG don’t care the Liverpool supporters must make them care. More protests at Anfield. Get the banners out get the planes flying over Anfield FSG out. Or sink into oblivion.
Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *
Notify me of follow-up comments by email.
Notify me of new posts by email.
