Virgil van Dijk Issues Warning for Liverpool's New Season

Virgil van Dijk has drawn a hard line under last season and fired a warning shot for the one about to begin: what Liverpool produced last year cannot happen again.

On the eve of the new Premier League campaign, the Liverpool captain was blunt about a title defence that unravelled into an “unacceptable” year and ended with Arne Slot out of a job and the club scrambling to reset under Andoni Iraola.

Liverpool start 2025/26 at Newcastle United on Sunday with a very different mood music. Twelve league defeats and 20 losses in all competitions turned a season that began with the champions of England into a scrap just to cling onto fourth place. They fell short, finishing fifth, though they did at least salvage Champions League qualification on the final day.

The cost was high. Slot was removed less than a week after the campaign ended. The club moved quickly for Iraola, who had left Bournemouth and arrived at Anfield as a free agent, signing a two-year deal in early June.

Pre-season has already shown flashes of what the Basque coach wants: a braver, more adventurous Liverpool. Van Dijk, now heading into his 10th season at the club, sounds energised by the shift — but he isn’t dressing up the scale of the task.

“For me personally, being a Liverpool player, last year was unacceptable,” he said. “But that is last year. This year we have an opportunity to turn that around, together with our fans.

“And we all know how tough that will be but if you don't up for the challenge, then you're not at the right place. What I feel at the moment is everyone is up for the challenge. Let's see how we go about it.

“But I'm really looking forward to this season and I don't think we have a point to prove to anyone. We have to show how much we care, how much we want to fight for this badge and also realise how privileged we are to be playing for Liverpool.”

The reference point for what might come next sits in Iraola’s recent past. Van Dijk has studied it.

“If you look at Bournemouth last year (under Iraola), I think they were pretty exciting,” he said.

The message is simple: keep the intensity, keep the belief, and the football should follow.

“I would say if we keep working, keep believing, keep showing our quality, staying fit, and hopefully win a lot of games then we can be very excited. That's the aim, that’s what we fight for, but we all know how tough it is.

“We all know how tough it is to be playing Premier League football, to be playing on all four fronts, but you have to embrace it. You have to enjoy the ride.

“We are all so blessed here and we have to keep going and enjoy it and that's what I will do, and I encourage everyone to do that as well. That's what I keep saying to the boys as well so let's see.”

New season, new defence

One of the biggest early calls for Iraola comes right in front of Van Dijk.

Liverpool’s captain will line up with a new centre-back partner, with the head coach weighing up whether to throw £60m signing Jeremy Jacquet straight in or lean on the experience of Ronald Araujo, who arrived on loan from Barcelona earlier this month.

Either way, Van Dijk knows the spine has to be strong if Liverpool are to attack all competitions with any conviction.

“We need a squad that is able to compete on all four fronts and that’s the only way to try to be successful,” the Netherlands captain added. “Let’s see what the last couple of weeks of the transfer window will bring and then let’s go for it.”

The rallying cry has been issued. Newcastle away will show how many in this Liverpool squad are truly ready to answer it.