Virgil doesn’t care
> Van Dijk said he can live with heavy price tag
VIRGIL VAN DIJK insists he can cope with the pressure of his £75m price tag. The 26-year-old says he has accepted people will only look at the mistakes he makes rather than the positive performances. Van Dijk admits it comes with the territory after becoming the world’s most expensive central defender and enduring a rollercoaster start to life at Anfield. It began with a late winner against Everton on his debut to knock the Reds’ rivals out of the FA Cup before he missed the 4-3 win over Manchester City through injury. Van Dijk was then questioned for his displays in Liverpool’s shock defeats by Swansea in the Premier League and West Brom in the FA Cup before being involved in the penalty fiasco on Sunday against Tottenham. “It is pretty easy for me,” he said. “I am pretty calm on that (the fee). “Other people around – other fans of other clubs, pundits – they can have their opinions, but it doesn’t really bother me. “You are always going to be judged but it is not like it is something really strange at the moment. “I know because I made such a big step right now, for a lot of money, everything is going to analysed.
“No one is going to look at the good things that you do. Everybody is going to watch the bad things and that is how it is.
“But I will discuss it with the people who want to make me better, who can make me better, that is the manager and the players around me. If they think it is right that is good then that is the way forward.”
All the talk after the dramatic 2-2 draw with Spurs was about the two penalty decisions for the visitors at Anfield but what was overlooked was how Van Dijk and Dejan Lovren kept Harry Kane relatively quiet.
Van Dijk, who returns to former club Southampton with Liverpool on Sunday and accepts he may be booed, also had to deal with a dig at his weight from former Red Jamie Carragher.
The Dutchman added: “I’ve not spoken to him but he needs to come into the dres sing room and can see if I need to lose some weight because I don’t think I need to!” – Daily Star