Van Dijk: Last season was unacceptable, we must turn it around

Virgil van Dijk has called Liverpool's 2025-26 campaign "unacceptable" and says the squad is fully committed to bouncing back under new manager Andoni Iraola.

Liverpool finished fifth in the Premier League last season with 60 points, a sharp decline from their title-winning 2024-25 campaign. The Reds open the 2026-27 season at Newcastle United on Sunday.

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

The captain insisted the dressing room mood is positive despite the difficult year. "What I feel at the moment is everyone is up for the challenge. Let's see how we go about it," he added.

Van Dijk pointed to Iraola's work at Bournemouth as a reason for optimism. "If you look at Bournemouth last year, I think they were pretty exciting," he said. "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."

The Dutch centre-back also urged his teammates to embrace competing across all four fronts this season. "You have to enjoy the ride. We all are so blessed here and we have to keep going," he said.