Van Dijk comments on Klopp's departure from Liverpool: Our goals will not be disrupted
"Virgil van Dijk, captain of Liverpool's first football team, believes that Jurgen Klopp's announcement of his departure as manager at the end of the season will not affect the group.
Jurgen Klopp officially announced his departure as the manager of Liverpool at the end of the current season after leading the Reds for 8 years, during which they achieved all possible titles."
In statements to the official Liverpool website, Van Dijk said, "It's hard to accept because this coach means a lot to us, personally to me, and also to the club and the entire English league. But Jurgen Klopp made the decision he sees best for him and his family."
He added, "He told us individually before announcing it, and we were all together. It was hard to accept, but we all committed to focus on the remainder of the season to achieve all possible titles, to celebrate it in the end with him."
"We always try to manage pressures and how to deal with them. It's huge for all of us. We'll fight with him till the end, just as we've done from day one at Liverpool. Perhaps his departure news gives us an extra push to do that extra bit or perhaps enjoy it more until the end of the season, the last part of the journey."
"I feel an additional responsibility as a captain of Liverpool, but my focus is on ensuring that our goals, the ones we have and the ones we're trying to achieve, won't be disrupted or affected by what Klopp announced, and that's what Jurgen wants as well. We need to continue, block out the noise that might affect the team, and focus solely on achieving our goals."
Regarding facing Norwich, Chelsea, and Arsenal in the upcoming week, he said, "There's no time for reflection or thinking; we have players returning, which is positive. We need every player at this time. Let's go there and enjoy everything, and see how the season ends."