**Virgil van Dijk**discussed his expectations for the year in the programme notes for Liverpool.
The Dutch defender has faced criticism for his performances as the reigning Premier League champions endured a torrid time between the end of September and the end of November.
However, an unbeaten run of three victories and three draws that began with a 2-0 win over West Ham has helped to restore some goodwill around the club. Even if a successful title defence looks unlikely for the Reds, they will be eager to return to the sorts of standards that secured the silverware.
“I certainly go into this year with optimism, which I hope you all share.
“We know that this season hasn’t gone the way we hoped it would so far and trust me when I say that we are as disappointed as anyone at that.
“We know improvement is needed in the second part of the campaign. But I believe we have shown some positive signs in recent weeks. It hasn’t been perfect, by any means, but to go seven games unbeaten in all competitions, we have to take that and be encouraged by that.
“The key now is to build on this recent run, to show some consistency and put ourselves in an even stronger position in the coming weeks. There is still so much to play for this season, and we have to be ready for all of the challenges ahead.
“As ever, it all comes back to hard work. Like I say, we know the things we can improve on, and we must all work extremely hard, every single day, to find those improvements.
“We may have suffered a few injuries lately, but we have enough quality in our squad to cope, and we have players coming back into the fold in any case, so there can be no excuses.”