MatchIn full: Virgil van Dijk's Liverpool v Nottm Forest programme notes

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“It has been a really positive and encouraging start to the season, and we are keen to continue that when we welcome Nottingham Forest to Anfield,” the captain writes in Saturday’s issue.

“We couldn’t really have signed off in better style ahead of the international break. My 200th Premier League game for Liverpool was certainly one I won’t forget in a hurry.

“Any victory over Manchester United is to be enjoyed, but the way the team performed at Old Trafford was especially pleasing, and the manner in which we have begun the campaign generally means we arrive into our upcoming fixtures with a lot of confidence.

“To have taken nine points from three games, with seven goals scored and none conceded, and having played two of those three games away from home – including one at Old Trafford – means we are doing a lot of things right.

“It gives us something to really build on going forward, but we also know that we are by no means the finished article yet. We can improve in every single aspect of the game, and that is a message that the head coach, his staff and us senior players will be reinforcing throughout the campaign, trust me.

“However good things look and feel, we must always be striving for more. I can assure you all that we will be doing exactly that.

“With the first international break out of the way, our attention now turns to a packed upcoming schedule. We play seven times across the next three weeks, in three different competitions, so we know we will need each and every member of the squad to be ready for the big challenges to come.

“First up are Forest, a team with a lot of talent, particularly in attacking areas, and one we will certainly not be taking lightly. They have given us some difficult games over the past couple of years, so we know that we will need to be at our best if we are to continue our promising start to the season.

“This game will also see tributes paid to a true Anfield great. As a centre-back and a Liverpool captain myself, I know the huge impact Ron Yeats had on the club, and the legacy he leaves behind following his recent passing.

“The great Bill Shankly called him ‘The Colossus’, which I think says everything. Ron was a league champion, the first Liverpool captain ever to lift the FA Cup and widely recognised as one of the club’s greatest ever players. Later, he served the club with distinction as chief scout, recommending, among others, another towering LFC centre-back in Sami Hyypia.

“Although I wasn’t fortunate enough to meet him personally, I know from the stories I have been told that he was, above all else, a lovely man, a true gentleman, and somebody who will be sorely missed by everyone associated with the club.

“I know you will all join us in paying our respects ahead of the game, and hopefully we can honour him in the perfect manner.

“Rest in Peace, Ron. You’ll Never Walk Alone.”