“That’s the question…” – Virgil van Dijk speaks out over ‘disrespect’ shown to Arne Slot
Virgil van Dijk has spoken out strongly about the ‘disrespect’ which has been directed at Arne Slot from some quarters in recent months.
Having gone from runaway Premier League winners last season to sixth at present in the current campaign, the head coach has come in for fierce criticism not just from pundits in the media, but also a significant volume of Liverpool supporters on online platforms.
After three heavy defeats on the bounce in November, some reputable journalists even claimed that the 47-year-old may have had just ‘one week’ to save his job, although a subsequent 13-match unbeaten run lessened (but not eliminated) the pressure on the Dutch tactician.
Van Dijk hits out over ‘disrespect’ towards Slot
Van Dijk has unsurprisingly backed his boss amid some online defamation which has crossed the line from critical analysis into personal abuse, and has insisted that Slot and the Liverpool squad would be wise to block out the empty noise.
The Reds captain said of the head coach (via Liverpool Echo): “Who gives him the disrespect? That’s the question. Is the disrespect being given by people that we shouldn’t value their disrespect?
“I can also think about players being disrespected, and who disrespects the players? Is that someone you value, is it a significant show of disrespect, or someone you can just let slide and instead just focus on the task ahead to be successful as a Liverpool player?
“It’s like us players as well – if you don’t perform you get criticism, and that’s part and parcel of the game. We have to perform. That’s what we didn’t do on a consistent basis but we speak about that every three or four days unfortunately.”
Some criticism of Slot is justified; some certainly isn’t
Van Dijk and Slot have both worked in elite football for long enough to know that criticism from fans, media and pundits is inevitable, even after victories, and neither of them is likely to be overly preoccupied with some of the more melodramatic heckling from outside the club.
They’ll also be fully aware that, for the most part, Liverpool have perfomed nowhere near their best this season and that results have fallen massively short of expectations, and the captain has acknowledged that negative discourse is inevitable when that happens.
The head coach hasn’t helped himself at times with baffling tactical calls and team selections, or with some bizarre public undermining of his players, but a lot of the abuse which has been directed at him is completely over the top.
It’s wrong to dehumanise the man who led the Reds to Premier League glory only last year, and who’s also had the unbearably difficult task of managing a squad through the tragic death of a teammate seven months ago.
Liverpool fans can be critical of certain words and actions from Slot without having to attack him personally or demand his immediate removal from his job. That said, the 47-year-old doesn’t need telling that only a consistent upturn in results will dispel the external scepticism, and that Champions League qualification is non-negotiable.
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