Virgil van Dijk and his Liverpool teammates have expressed their difficulty in accepting the news of Jurgen Klopp’s upcoming departure from the club.
Klopp, the manager of the Reds, will conclude his Anfield tenure at the end of the current season, revealing this unexpected decision on Friday.
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Klopp’s timing has taken everyone by surprise, especially considering the remarkable progress his team has made since his major surgery in the summer.
Noteworthy acquisitions like Dominik Szoboszlai, Alexis Mac Allister, and Ryan Gravenberch have proven to be astute, while key figures such as Mohamed Salah, Trent Alexander-Arnold, and club captain Van Dijk have all experienced revitalized performances.
Van Dijk’s arrival six years ago, marked by a then-world record fee for a defender, significantly propelled Klopp’s Liverpool project.
The seasoned defender is still coming to terms with the news that he will be under a new manager come the close season.
‘It’s a hard one to take, because the manager means so much for us, to me, to the club, to the whole Premier League I think,’ said the Netherlands international. ‘But he made the decision for him and his family. It was always going to be a tough one and it was definitely the case.
‘He told us in private of course, and all of us were together. Like I said, it’s a hard one to take but our mindset is to focus on business.
‘We have a lot of targets still to achieve this year and why not finish the season on a high and together with celebrations for the boss as well?’
In the video message where Klopp revealed his decision, he made a specific request, urging fans not to turn the rest of the season into a farewell tour.
Despite Klopp’s announcement, Van Dijk emphasizes that the team’s focus will swiftly shift back to on-field matters, beginning with the FA Cup fourth-round clash against Norwich on Sunday.
He said: ‘I think how we always try to manage noise from the outside. Of course this is massive, it’s massive news in football. For us, it was also a very big day. But we have big targets this year and that’s definitely stressed by the manager as well.
‘For us and for me personally as well, I want to make sure the rest of the boys think like that too. I think that’s the case as well. We all want to achieve so much and that mindset was already there since pre-season and that doesn’t change.
‘It will maybe even give you an extra boost to do that extra or maybe enjoy it a little bit even more together and make the last part of the season, the last bit of the manager’s time at the club, the best time he’s ever had. That’s what we strive for and that’s why it’s business as usual.’
