Virgil van Dijk has stressed that 'no one is immune to criticism' as Liverpool's underwhelming season nears its end.
Despite a recent upturn in form, the Reds face an uphill battle to finish in the top four and are set to miss out on Champions League football for the first time since 2016/17.
Premier League runners-up to Manchester City last term – when they took the title race right down to the wire – Jurgen Klopp's side trail current leaders Arsenal by 22 points.
And Van Dijk – an integral member of Liverpool's Premier League and Champions League-winning teams under Klopp – has come in for plenty of stick for his performances in 2022/23, a reaction he accepts.
In an interview with The Times, the Dutch defender said:
"No one is immune to criticism. If someone said that, they are lying. But when the criticism is there and you know it is right, the only thing you can do is keep your head down and focus on improving.
"I know my performance has been going like the team has been going: up and down. I know I'm one of the players who is looked at; that I set a high standard over the last five years; that it's normal to be criticised.
"The only thing I can do is block the noise out and focus on how I deal with certain situations to be better."
Liverpool are next in action when they welcome Tottenham to Anfield on Sunday afternoon, having just strung together three league wins for the first time since December.
