Virgil van Dijk determined to stay humble at Liverpool

Virgil van Dijk has started the 2018/19 campaign superbly, drawing praise from managers, players, pundits and supporters all over the world for his commanding performances in Liverpool’s back line. The Reds’ Number Four has enjoyed a sterling partnership with Joe Gomez, ensuring between them that Liverpool have only conceded 4 goals in 6 games, half of which came against French champions Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday night.

However, the big Dutchman – still the most expensive defender in the world – is determined to remain humble and focussed on the task at hand, which for Liverpool currently takes the form of a difficult and jam-packed autumnal fixture list.

“We have to keep working hard and stay humble. We have a tough game on Saturday with Southampton, then Chelsea and Manchester City coming up,” Van Dijk said, as quoted on the official Liverpool website.

“When games come along every three days you have to be properly prepared, it’s the only way forward. That and the right mindset. I want to create memories here, I want to win things with this team, and to do that we have to have belief in our ability to beat the best teams.

“If you are going to be out on the pitch and you don’t believe that, then you had better stay at home.

“We were not in the Champions League final last season for no reason. We already deserve respect for what we did but in football you have to keep proving yourself because it always starts again.

“The season has only just started and we can’t take anything for granted and get ahead of ourselves.”

READ: Robertson hails Sturridge impact in Champions League

SOUTHAMPTON, ENGLAND – Sunday, February 11, 2018: Liverpool’s manager Jürgen Klopp and Virgil van Dijk after the FA Premier League match between Southampton FC and Liverpool FC at St. Mary’s Stadium. (Pic by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)

READ: Milner: Klopp can ‘lose it’ even when things are going well

Liverpool have recorded impressive, hard-fought victories against Tottenham Hotspur and PSG since the international break, and Van Dijk believes the nature of those wins is largely down to the current high level of positivity in Jurgen Klopp’s squad.

“This is a great time to be a Liverpool player. Everyone is excited, everyone wants to be a part of it and though we know the season is very long, with four competitions to play in, we want to win everything. That is basically our mindset,” said van Dijk.

“You need to have ambitions, and with the size of this club and its history we are going to try to win everything. It is going to be hard, and there will be days when we have downs, but we have shown we can react to tough situations and at the moment I am not worried about anything.

“There is a lot of belief in this team, in the whole squad in fact. Everyone is there for each other.”

Van Dijk and Liverpool take on Southampton on Saturday at Anfield.

The post Virgil van Dijk determined to stay humble at Liverpool appeared first on AnfieldHQ.

Source: anfieldhq.com