Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk has admitted he has been affected by recent criticism he has faced from Dutch legends.
Marco van Basten, Rafael van der Vaart and Ronald de Boer were among those to slate the Reds skipper for his involvement in the Netherlands’ 3-2 defeat to Austria
Van Dijk was at fault for Marcel Sabitzer’s late winner, having played the former Manchester United loanee onside.
The loss saw Netherlands finish third in the Group D, though results elsewhere denied them a tough round-of-16 meeting with England
That hasn’t prevented Van Dijk from being scrutinised though, with the Liverpool defender often finding himself the subject of his compatriots’ criticism.
Admitting he blames himself for Netherlands’ loss to Austria, he revealed the Dutch side have shared harsh words following the defeat
Van Dijk
“It goes without saying that I have to take responsibility now,”
“We have spoken a lot in the last 48 hours and some harsh words have been spoken
“That is of course necessary, because some things have certainly happened. I feel like it helped, but it’s really time to show that.
“It makes perfect sense. I’m going to work on that too. I blame myself too.
“I’m not crazy, I know when things need to be improved. That’s what I’m working on. That is the basis for getting better.
“The last match was definitely not my best, but personally that has not happened often this season. It is important to me that it stops now.
“That is the responsibility I take now. That responsibility is very great, especially at Oranje. And the criticism affects me.”
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