“Within the team, nothing has changed,” said Liverpool defender and captain Virgil van Dijk, when asked on Sunday about the surprise announcement of the departure at the end of the season of Jürgen Klopp, his coach since 2018.
“It was the first time since the announcement that the manager was back at the stadium with all the supporters. It was obviously going to be a little different,” said the Dutchman about the atmosphere at Anfield, Sunday against Norwich (5-2) in the FA Cup.
“Within the team, nothing has changed,” he assured the BBC, two days after this unexpected development. “It was very emotional on the day.”
The central defender hopes that the upcoming changes will not disrupt the group, leader of the Premier League and still in contention in the League Cup and Europa League, in addition to the Cup. “We have to deal with this noise. It’s my job as captain to make sure this doesn’t affect our players.”
Klopp himself called for focusing on sporting performance by putting his personal case aside until the end of the season.
“It’s great that the fans are showing me their love and we need to be pushed on the pitch. We need the public, and for them not to think about the coach,” declared the German technician on the air of the ITV channel.
The announcement of his departure, “we must forget about it for a while and unleash ourselves like crazy on each opponent. This is what we want to do and the next opportunity is Wednesday,” against Chelsea at home.
“We don’t just want to win for the boss. We want to win for ourselves, for the club and because we are winners,” van Dijk said. “We need Anfield on fire on Wednesday and a perfect performance against a good Chelsea team.”