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Arne Slot and Virgil van Dijk have both been issued a stark warning following Liverpool's worrying decline in form. The Reds have endured four successive Premier League defeats and were knocked out of the Carabao Cup by Crystal Palace earlier this week.
That dreadful run in the top flight has seen Liverpool drop to seventh in the Premier League table ahead of Saturday night's clash with Aston Villa. Slot's side haven't secured victory in the league since beating Everton in the Merseyside derby on September 20.
Liverpool's sequence of defeats has placed increasing pressure on Slot's position as head coach. However, former Manchester United assistant Rene Meulensteen, who worked alongside Sir Alex Ferguson, has explained why multiple factors may be contributing to the Reds' concerning slump.
"They [Liverpool] were winning games in the first games of the season but they were dragging themselves over the line in the last few minutes so the writing was on the wall and they've gone from leading the title race to being several points behind," Meulensteen told compare.bet..
"That's an enormous shift but Slot has not turned into a bad manager. His coaching staff aren't suddenly bad coaches.
"They haven't suddenly turned the messaging to the players from black to white. It's the same with the players.
"[Florian] Wirtz has come from a different league in the Bundesliga, as did [Hugo] Ekitke, but I think Wirtz is finding it even a little bit harder to find his feet.
"The whole [Alexander] Isak transfer saga has not done anybody any favours because he's not been fully fit. Mentally, he's probably not arrived at where he needs to be. He's desperate to score a goal and get going.
"Everybody's starting to question Mohamed Salah now but he hasn't suddenly turned into a bad player. He has had these spells before where he suddenly hits a bit of a dry patch."
Meulensteen went on to explain why he believes senior figures such as Van Dijk must quickly show their leadership credentials to halt Liverpool's run of defeats.
"They have to go back to themselves and say, when were we at our best and what were the reasons why? The key is making sure that you don't start pointing fingers at each other," Meulensteen added.
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"You look at yourself first and make sure that you stick together. You say let's bring the best out of each other again.
"It starts with hard work, working together, doing your defensive jobs and making sure those players who thrive on being able to express themselves have the courage to play their best football.
"That's what those big players do and there's no harm in asking the big players to step up. Virgil Van Dijk is still there. Dominik Szoboszlai is only getting better and better. They've still got Alexis Mac Allister. Salah is still there."
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