Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk has hit back at suggestions that the Premier League champions have too many days off and insisted that they are ‘not kids’.
Fans have jumped on the theory that the Reds do not train enough and spend too much time on city breaks and short holidays in recent weeks.
Despite the team having roughly the same amount of free time as last season when they won the title, onlookers think it is a reason for Liverpool’s lack of intensity on the pitch in this torrid season in which they have now lost 19 matches.
But asked what the schedule looks like this coming week after a ‘few days off’ before the defeat at Manchester United, Van Dijk said: ‘A few days off? You mean one day off?’
Pushed on whether a few players had been on holiday after stars such as Alexis Mac Allister posted snaps in Rome, the captain replied: ‘I’m not sure it’s a holiday. It’s a city trip.
Virgil van Dijk has hit out at critics who suggest Liverpool do not train enough
‘But I think if you have one day off, and you don’t have many days off, they decide what they want to do with their families. We are not kids. Everyone is an adult.
‘This week we have an early kick-off on Saturday. So preparation is on that. Yesterday we were in a hotel. Today we played. So two days away with the family again. It’s not that we have a holiday whatsoever.’
Told there was a perception that the squad is not training enough, Van Dijk added: ‘Really? I wish we had a couple more days off at times because I think it works both ways. You see Pep Guardiola giving City three days off the last weeks in a row and they are doing pretty well.
‘It is finding the right balance. I can understand if people think we are not training and, when results are not there, it could be a reason for why we are not getting results. Like anyone else, personally I want this to be solved.
‘I want us to experience what I have had over my time here. I want us to be successful. I want to be consistent with the team, winning games and fighting. We want to get the job done. At the minute, we are just disappointed.
Stars have been slammed for taking holidays during the campaign – Alexis Mac Allister pictured in Rome recently
‘Consistency is the most difficult thing in any job you do. But it is also the best way to be successful and get results. We have three more games now then the World Cup. We have to realise next season this season cannot be repeated. It is unacceptable.’
Earlier, the skipper said: ‘I’m not here to make excuses. It’s been a very disappointing season, an unacceptable season. We shouldn’t feel sorry for ourselves whatsoever. We have to turn it around and make sure these things don’t happen. It’s not Liverpool.
‘I care so much about this club. I know that it has been a tough season but I will always be there in good and lesser good days.’
