Virgil van Dijk labels Liverpool's previous season 'unacceptable' as he pleads for patience with Andoni Iraola

Writing in the official matchday programme ahead of the clash with Nottingham Forest, Van Dijk did not hold back when assessing how Liverpool performed last term. As reported by the Liverpool Echo, the defender insisted that the team are capable of achieving much more.

Liverpool are aiming for their first home win under Iraola following last Sunday's hard-fought 2-2 draw at Newcastle United. He wrote: "We want to win, ultimately. At Liverpool, that should always be the aim. You don't need me to tell you that last season was tough, unacceptable in my opinion. We are better than that, much better in fact, and now we need to show it."

Following the arrival of Iraola, Liverpool have been undergoing a significant tactical transition. The captain acknowledged that transforming the playing style will not happen overnight, but he stressed that the squad are putting in maximum effort to speed up the process and find a higher level of consistency.

"When you have a new coach with new plans and new ideas, it is always going to take a bit of time to put those into practice," Van Dijk explained. "But it is down to us to do that as quickly as we can. I can tell you that we are working extremely hard every day on the training ground, because we all want to improve, we want to be better and more consistent."

Despite facing struggles in their opening fixture, Van Dijk believes there are solid foundations to build upon. Liverpool fought back twice at St James' Park, showing the resilience that will be crucial if they are to mount a serious challenge this year. "Like I say, we showed some good things against Newcastle," he added.

"St. James' Park is always a tough place to go, and though obviously we were not happy with the goals we conceded, I think we showed good character to twice come back and we worked extremely hard as a team to take something from the game. It wasn't a victory, which is what we wanted of course, but it was a deserved point in my opinion, and we take that and move on."

Liverpool are back in action when they host Nottingham Forest at Anfield on Saturday. Iraola will be hoping his side can secure all three points to kickstart their season in front of the home crowd. Forest arrive at Anfield searching for their third successive league victory, meaning the hosts must be at their absolute best to ensure they secure maximum points.