Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk tells ‘unacceptable’ team-mates to ‘don’t even think about the title’ and ‘look in the mirror’ as they have no fight in remarkable outburst over Liverpool flops Jürgen Klopp

Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk insists his side do not deserve to win the championship after their meek surrender in the Merseyside Derby defeat, with the Dutchman saying the players cannot accept the way they are letting their season ends.

Everton earned a 2-0 victory at Goodison Park, their first defeat against Liverpool at home since 2010 and just Jurgen Klopp’s second defeat overall in the match. The Reds have been poor at both ends of the pitch and have now all but conceded the Premier League title.

And Van Dijk has spoken out, claiming his side did not show enough fight to give Klopp a fairytale end to his nearly nine years at Anfield. “In games like these, the bare minimum is combat,” the defender said.

“We missed that at a lot of times – little challenges, passes that weren’t clear, so we came across challenges that they won and they got some momentum from that. They had I don’t know how many of set pieces. This could make a difference because it is one of their strengths.

“But we have to look in the mirror and each of us has to think: ‘Look, you can’t accept this, you can’t accept the way we let our season end, if you play like we do. ‘Have done. Today, you don’t deserve to win the championship.”

He believes Liverpool don’t deserve to win the league after their ‘unacceptable’ performance.

Van Dijk called on Jurgen Klopp’s flops to look in the mirror as he accused them of lacking fight.

“So now it’s time to recover and get back up because we have to do it for ourselves, for the club and for the fans. It’s not just about going and playing your game, you have to do well more than this.

“If we play like today and let go like today, then you shouldn’t even think about (the title). It’s a mix of everything. You can’t put your finger on it, the confidence, the inexperience, the challenges, perhaps the fear of making mistakes in this part of the season We cannot accept that.

“We kept doing our thing (all season): playing games, finding ways to win, even with red cards, even with last minute winners. We kept doing that and that’s our great merit. But now it’s crunch time and we weren’t good enough in the way we finished off the chances.

“(It’s) in the way we defended together and also in the fight. I think we need to show a lot more. What I’ve said before, everyone has to look in the mirror, come back tomorrow and we can’t let the season end like this.

Van Dijk added that Liverpool seem to be running out of steam and ideas – but he is ready to get back up and inspire the group to improve. “In the second half we ran out of steam and ideas but it’s difficult to say because we have to be a unit,” he said.

Van Dijk admitted Liverpool appeared to be running out of steam at a crucial time of the season and urged the team to bounce back and finish the campaign strongly.

“We’ve had discussions with the team and everyone is on board but on match day that’s where it counts. It’s a disappointing night for all of us and we have to look at ourselves and can’t accept this, turn around and finish as much as we can.

“We can’t have groups blaming each other because that’s not how it works. It’s a team thing and I don’t blame anyone. I blame us as a team, as a group, and we need to do a lot better. It starts with defense and as always, it starts from the front and goes to the back.

“I’ve been through a lot in life and I’m going to get myself and the team back up. That’s the responsibility I have. It’s going to be okay. On Thursday we’ll be back (at the training ground) , we will get together and show the reaction against West Ham (Saturday).

“Obviously when we get a bad result we always talk about reacting, but now we can’t just accept it. We can’t accept the fact that we’re going to let the season go like this. It’s just disappointing .