"I couldn’t lace his boots as a footballer" - Jamie Carragher on Liverpool's Virgil van Dijk

Jamie Carragher has heaped praise on Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk, claiming that he was nowhere near the quality of the Dutchman as a player.

In a recent episode of the Robbie Fowler Podcast, the 43-year-old was asked what it would be like to partner Virgil van Dijk in defense and whether he would still be the more domineering defender out of the two.

The former Liverpool captain said:

"Yeah definitely, Rob, that’s my personality [being a vocal leader out on the pitch]. That’s just me as a person, so the way I speak on the football pitch is the way I speak now in the television studio. The way I spoke when I first played football. I know I am a big character and a big personality. It’s not an act, that’s just me.

He added:

"Whatever team I went into, I would be the dominant player with my voice. Whatever team I played in I always told people what to do. So if I played with Virgil van Dijk now, I couldn’t lace his boots as a footballer, but I would still be telling him where to go on a football pitch, because that’s me."

Jamie Carragher has made over 730 appearances for Liverpool over a 17-year career. The Englishman was part of the Reds' UEFA Champions League-winning team in 2005 and has gone down in history as one of their greatest players ever.

Liverpool have sorely missed Virgil van Dijk this season

Virgil van Dijk is out for the season due to a knee injury

The collapse of Liverpool's title defense this season is rooted in the fact that the club were ravaged by injuries after a dominant start to the campaign.

Virgil van Dijk picked up a knee injury against Everton in October last year and has since been ruled out for the season. It was later revealed that the defender had suffered a cruciate ligament tear.

The center-back's absence from Liverpool's defense has affected the team badly, as the Reds have been in dismal form since the turn of the year.

Jurgen Klopp's men find themselves in a fight to finish in the top four this season as they currently occupy 6th place on the Premier League table.

If Liverpool are to finish in the top four this season, they cannot afford to slip up for the rest of the campaign.