Virgil van Dijk does not intend to listen to harsh criticism when he makes mistakes on the pitch, as he is mentally keen to show the critics that they are wrong. The 30-year-old Dutchman has fought back after a nine-month absence due to a serious knee injury, and is again to be found on the pitch for Liverpool, where he is struggling to reach his top level again. Van Dijk tries to prove that he was as good as before that the injury occurred, and therefore he does not listen when the criticism hails in: - I have noticed that when I perform well, everyone says' it does not look like he has missed a whole year ', but when I make one or two mistakes and mistakes happen, everyone says' you can see that he has just returned from an injury or 'he can not do the same anymore', says van Dijk to English Mirror. - These things take up an enormous amount of mental space. Fortunately, I am mentally strong and I do not listen or pay attention to any of this, van Dijk concludes. Liverpool's defense has played for eight clean-sheets in 14 Premier League games, but has conceded two or more goals against them on four occasions this season.