Programme notesVirgil van Dijk: It's a squad game now and every player has a job to do
Virgil van Dijk has underscored the requirement for every player in the Liverpool squad to contribute towards the quest for success this season.
The Reds head into this evening's Europa League meeting with Toulouse at the top of Group E after two rounds of fixtures, having also made an encouraging start to their Premier League campaign.
For that strong form to be maintained on multiple fronts, Van Dijk believes Jürgen Klopp will seek to continue utilising the array of options he has available.
- Get your copy of the matchday programme at Anfield tonight or at our online store here.
In tonight's matchday programme, the captain writes: "The thing that I have most enjoyed about our Europa League campaign so far is that we have gone about our business with very little fuss, just getting the job done and moving on to the next challenge, no matter which players are selected.
"Obviously we have had two good wins from our two fixtures so far and we are currently top of the group, which underlines the positive start we have made. The manager made changes in those games but the team functioned, performed and ultimately came away with really good results.
"With the way modern football is, with games coming thick and fast all the time, it is vital that we are able to do this because the days of a 'first-choice' XI rolling on from one match to the next, over and over again, are long gone. It is a squad game now and this means every player has a job to do.
"At the time of writing these notes it is too early to know which team the manager will select for tonight's game with Toulouse, but hopefully whoever is in the side will be able to perform for the team.
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Watch on YouTube"Our form so far this season has been good and this continued with the win over Everton at the weekend, but it is only October so we are still looking for improvements, with a lot of hard work happening on the training ground.
"All of these things together – the desire to get better, the graft that is being put in and the quality of the squad – have been a big feature of the first few months of the season.
"I've lost count of the number of times players have come off the bench to make a positive difference for us and we saw it again in the derby with the goals coming after the manager had made changes.
"This is what we want. As I said, responsibility for results falls on everyone's shoulders these days, much more than it did in the past, so if we can carry on picking up points – no matter who is on the pitch – it can only bode well for the rest of the season."
- Get your copy of the matchday programme at Anfield tonight or at our online store here.
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