Virgil Van Dijk, Europe’s best defender, swears by a simple mantra for success: consistency - a trait that has seen him grow into one of the most sought-after defenders in the world, and a trait that saw his team Liverpool achieve unparalleled success last season.
The Reds will rely on their consistency on Saturday when they travel to Goodison Park to take on high-flying Everton, which tops the Premier League table with four wins from as many games. There's a lot at stake for Jurgen Klopp’s men as they look to bounce back from the 7-2 mauling they suffered at the hands of Aston Villa in their last league encounter.
READ: Liverpool's Villa humbling may prove most important game, says Klopp
The humbling loss came two days after Klopp's side lost to Arsenal on penalties in the EFL Cup.
However, Van Dijk does not think it's time to press the panic buzzer just yet. “Consistency is the most difficult thing in football and to keep doing it week on week out, year after year, that’s something we try to achieve. If we look at the last two seasons, we have been consistent - we have been bringing in performances week on week out. Some games were better than the other and we had a certain level of consistency that made us the champions of England last year,” he says.
The towering Dutchman adds that Liverpool’s approach to the game has remained unchanged despite the rare blips. “How we approach games at the moment is the same way we have been doing for the last three years. We look at games that are ahead of us and not thinking about what’s going to happen in the next two-three months. We focus on what’s in front of us, try to win and give everything that we got. It is going to be tough. Like I said before, consistency is the difficult thing in football. It’s a big challenge for all of us so we are looking forward to it,” he continues.
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Looking back at a tremendous last season that saw Liverpool shatter records aplenty and lift the Premier League crown, he says, “It was quite difficult considering the circumstances and the situation we were in but we just keep carrying on. You know, it was 30 years! Sometimes you forget it took 30 years for the club to become the Premier League champions and what we achieved last season was exceptional because we just keep going.”
Having been forced back to action after a rather short break, Van Dijk feels it’s a matter of time before Liverpool finds its groove. “The new season began within eight weeks of our last Premier League game and we just keep going. The fans not being here doesn’t help either, so it’s just a bit of all over the place at the moment. Hopefully, things will soon settle down and fans will be back in the stadium and we can just crack on and get a good season.”
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