Virgil van Dijk has become the first Liverpool player to comment on Arne Slot‘s sacking almost 24 hours after it was announced, with a brief message of thanks.
Slot was confirmed to have been dismissed from the role of Liverpool head coach at 12.30pm on Saturday.
Since then there has been a notable quiet from those who played under the Dutchman at Anfield, despite some such as Florian Wirtz, Curtis Jones and Harvey Elliott remaining active on social media.
But captain Van Dijk has now broken the silence from those in the squad with a brief message of support to his former head coach on Instagram.
“We’ll never forget winning the Premier League in our first season together,” the 34-year-old wrote on his story.
“Thank you, Trainer, and best of luck to you and your family for the future.”
LONDON, ENGLAND - Sunday, October 27, 2024: Liverpool's captain Virgil van Dijk (R) and head coach Arne Slot after the FA Premier League match between Arsenal FC and Liverpool FC at the Emirates Stadium. (Photo by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)
Van Dijk’s use of the word “Trainer” is a nod to their shared dialect, with the term widely used in the Netherlands in reference to a club’s head coach or manager.
While concise, his statement shows the affection towards Slot for the impact he made during his first season in charge at Liverpool.
It is however unfortunate that it all unravelled in his second campaign, to the point of wider suggestions that Slot had not only lost the fans, but also the dressing room.
Mo Salah‘s departure came after public criticism of his head coach, with the Egyptian telling reporters in December that “all of a sudden we don’t have any relationship” and later pointing out the drop in standards at Liverpool.
Van Dijk himself admitted the season just gone was far from good enough, telling Sky Sports after his goal won the Merseyside derby last month that simply fighting for a Champions League spot was “definitely not Liverpool-worthy.”
“That is definitely not Liverpool-worthy, in my opinion, but it is the reality and it was important we got the win today. I’m glad we did,” he explained.
The Dutchman added: “We are very disappointed as a whole for the season that we’re having because of the quality we have. So it’s below standards.
“We have to keep going to make the best of this difficult, poor season we are having, that’s the reality.”
At time of writing no other Liverpool player has commented on Slot’s sacking.