Virgil van Dijk has said that Liverpool ‘will give everything’ to win the Europa League this season ahead of the club’s group stage opener.
Liverpool are competing in the Europa League for the first time since the 2015/16 campaign this season after a fifth-placed finish in the Premier League, with the Reds set to take on Austrian outfit LASK in their first fixture on Thursday evening.
Van Dijk admitted that missing out on the Champions League was a blow to his side, but said Liverpool are determined to make the most of their campaign in the Europa League.
“We all wanted before the season ended to be in the Champions League but we didn’t deserve it. We deserved the Europa League, we will give everything we have and we want to win it. It won’t happen overnight we have to work for it,” Van Dijk said at a pre-match press conference.
Liverpool are unbeaten in five Premier League games this season and Van Dijk – who missed the weekend win at Wolves through suspension – believes there have been positive signs from Jurgen Klopp’s new look team.
“We’re working hard everyday, that’s from pre-season. New players coming in, some coming through, I see a lot of potential and good things and the results have been there. We take it game by game, that’s how it’s been in our success years.
“We shouldn’t get ahead of ourselves, every game is tough tomorrow is the same. It’s an exciting time, a lot of young players, quality players. If you look at the last game, I watched it from the sideline, the first-half was not how we wanted to perform but the reaction was sign of good things that can happen. We keep doing our principles and I enjoyed to see that, it’s a good foundation to build on and we have to keep going.
“There will be tough moments, we have to be ready to face them, we’re only in September nothing is decided but it’s a good start.”
