Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk says the team are in the Europa League to win it.
The Reds open their campaign on Thursday against LASK Linz.
The Reds were demoted to the second tier of European football on account of their fifth-placed Premier League finish last term, while the hosts overcame Zrinjski Mostar 3-2 in qualifying to prolong their continental journey.
The six-time Champions League winners regularly stepped out to the Europa League anthem between 2010 and 2016 and even reached the final in the latter year, only to fall to Sevilla’s superiority, but Klopp’s men are already the pundits favourite to hoist the trophy aloft at the Aviva Stadium.
However, in a chat with newsmen, Van Dijk stated that the team is determined to win the Europa League title.
Van Dijk said, “We all wanted to be in the Champions League but we didn’t deserve it. We deserved to be in the Europa League and we will give it everything we have to win it. We want to try and win the Europa League. We have to work at it and that starts tomorrow.
“We are working very hard each and every day. New players are coming in, young players coming through, everyone is getting used to that. I see a lot of potential and good things already, the results have been there. We take it game by game.
“We shouldn’t get ahead of ourselves. Each game that we play in each competition is going to be tough, this is the same. It’s an exciting time, there’s a lot of young players with quality. If you look at the last game, the first half was not how we all wanted to perform.
“But the reaction we showed is a sign of good things that could happen this year. We are looking good but we are only in September.”
Dutch professional footballer who plays as a centre back for and captains both Premier League club Liverpool and the Netherlands national team.
Widely regarded as one of the best defenders in the world, Van Dijk is known for his strength, leadership and aerial ability.
