Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk has claimed that he was certain that his and the team’s blip in form last season was going to be temporary.
The Reds are sitting at the top of the Premier League standings with 42 points having played a game more than Arsenal, who are second in the table.
Liverpool finished fifth last season and Van Dijk’s poor form was one of the reasons the Reds looked flaky in the previous campaign.
The Dutchman and the team are back to their best and he conceded that he is feeling much better and more liberated in the head this season as things are going according to plan.
He conceded that last season was mentally taxing as he had never experienced such a blip in form both in terms of his individual performance and the drop in level of the team.
However, the defender insisted that he was confident that the poor form was only a temporary phase for him and Liverpool.
Van Dijk told Dutch daily the Algemeen Dagblad (via Voetbal Primeur): “Things are really going well again; I feel very good.
“It makes me freer in my mind.
“If things don’t go the way you want, you start thinking because you want to do everything possible to turn things around.
“Mentally, that hasn’t been easy.
“When things weren’t going the way last season, individually and with the entire team, I was really in shock because I had never experienced it before.
“At the same time, I was always sure that this is temporary.”
Liverpool beat Burnley 2-0 on Boxing Day and will next host Newcastle United at Anfield on New Year’s Day.
