Virgil van Dijk has denied that Liverpool’s squad is playing for its future.
Arne Slot’s side are safely through to the Champions League’s knockout stage after rounding off the league phase with Wednesday’s 6-0 dismantling of Qarabag.
But the Reds have struggled in the Premier League as they face a fight for a top four finish with last weekend’s defeat at Bournemouth marking their seventh loss so far.
Amine Adli’s stoppage-time winner at the Vitality Stadium is the fifth time this term that the reigning champions have shipped a goal at the end of a top flight fixture.
Slot is facing growing pressure as a result while the Anfield dressing room also finds itself under the microscope with their stuttering campaign continuing apace.
Ahead of Saturday’s clash with Newcastle United, however, Van Dijk has refuted suggestions that he or his teammates need to perform to avoid a summer exit.
He said: “I don’t know who’s playing for their future.
“But I think that the reality is some players are running out of contract. Some players are still having a year [left] after this, like myself.
“But we have to see how the season goes and how it’s going to end. Hopefully it’s successful, but it’s not about players playing to keep their jobs, in my opinion.
“I still think we have very, very good players, and [against Qarabag] showed as well, we played well.
“It’s going to be a totally different game in the weekend again but we still have to do it, and show a reaction to a disappointing night [at Bournemouth] where a lot of noise came our way.
“Well deserved, of course, but it’s not easy.
“The difficulties that we’re having at the moment is that we don’t have the consistency. We can’t, so far, build enough on good performances that we have during this season.
“That’s something we work on, it’s something we have to improve. I think we are well equipped to deal with the demands of the Premier League.
“If you look at the team [on Wednesday], we are in a situation where we have to be creative and obviously have youngsters also who want to make this step up as well and get the opportunities as well.
“So it’s a combination of everything, and we just have to keep going.”
Slot accepted before the dismantling of Qarabag that he and the team would have to deal with what he described as ‘outside noise’ between now and the end of May.
But Van Dijk insists that he is not fazed by criticism despite admitting that he fears for the next generation of footballers due to every mistake being widely scrutinised.
“Listen, I think everyone deals with [criticism] differently, so I can deal with it in a certain way,” added the Liverpool captain.
“A lot of players can deal with it in a certain way, as well. I think certain things about it, but I will keep that to myself for now. The only thing I feel is the responsibility to perform.
“So, when I came home, after that [Bournemouth] game, I was obviously very disappointed. I felt very responsible for the difficult night that we had.
“But the responsibility I feel is to turn it around, and be the best version of myself again, in this game, and recover now, and then try to do the same in the weekend, because that’s what everyone expects from me.
“I think it’s going to be even worse for the next generation. I wish them luck, and I’ll prepare them a little bit by talking to them about it.
“But it will be very, very difficult going forward, because everything that you do is so magnified [now].
“That’s why football nowadays will be seen as not enjoyable anymore because you can’t make mistakes, you can’t slip.
“Back in the days, football was played and good things happened, bad things happened, but there was still appreciation.
“So I think it’s for the next generation, it will be very, very tricky. That’s why I try, and I want to help in the best way I can by sharing my experiences also.
“That’s why I’m involved with my own youth tournament to get the next generation ready for what is coming, hopefully. But it’s life, it’s the world, it’s not only in football.”