Arsenal title winner Paul Merson has taken aim at Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp.
Merson has called on the underperforming Reds to stop "hiding behind Virgil van Dijk's injury" as they look to recover from six home defeats in a row.
"This is hard to say but I think Jurgen Klopp has been a bit blinkered at Liverpool," he wrote in his column for Sky Sports.
"At the moment, they haven't got the personnel in defence to keep things tight. If Van Dijk and (Joe) Gomez aren't there, Liverpool's centre backs aren't good enough. That screams at me that they needed to switch to a back three.
"That would give you a bit more protection and it would just change things up a bit. However, he stuck with 4-3-3 time and time again, and they've been exposed.
"Klopp should have been able to take a step back and seen the need to change things up, play three at the back and be fair to the players who have filled in in defence like Jordan Henderson, Fabinho, Nat Phillips and Ozan Kabak, who only arrived in January.
"These players are at one of the best clubs and one of the best supported in the world. They have now got to stand up and take responsibility.
"They are at Liverpool to perform and not feel sorry for themselves because of injuries. If they want to play for Liverpool, you cannot just wait and rely on Van Dijk coming back. You cannot keep hiding behind Van Dijk's injury."
