Virgil van Dijk admitted he has been on the receiving end of Jurgen Klopp’s anger “plenty of times” as he discussed the Liverpool boss’ demeanour.
It’s been a rough start to the season for the Reds, their recent defeat to Nottingham Forest leaving them eighth in the Premier League and 12 points off the top of the table.
Klopp’s frustration has been evident throughout the campaign, with the Liverpool boss sent off during the win over Manchester City for a touchline outburst towards the officials.
Van Dijk has so often been a standout performer for the club since arriving four years ago, but even the centre-back does not escape his manager’s ire.
“Oh yeah plenty of times,” Van Dijk told Gary Neville on The Overlap Xtra when asked if he had been shouted out by Klopp.
“Not in my face because I feel like screaming in someone’s face could be a little disrespectful but when it’s needed he will definitely do it, but he shouts a lot.
“The thing is and what I like is that someone does that because someone really cares about you or the situation and wants to make sure it improves or get anyone else sharper. So I really enjoy that in a way and it helps me personally.”
One such incident came on the opening day of the season, when Liverpool twice had to come from behind to earn a point against Fulham at Craven Cottage.
Van Dijk admitted he deliberately ignored Klopp late on in that match, knowing an outburst was coming.
“I was trying to go more direct and he was shouting at me that we had to play a little bit more,” Van Dijk said.
“I know he was shouting from the side so I wasn’t looking at him or trying to acknowledge him because I knew for a fact that he was going to go after me. It is what it is.’
