Liverpool defender Dejan Lovren has praised the start made by Virgil van Dijk at the club following his world-record move from Southampton.
Van Dijk has endured a topsy-turvy Liverpool career so far, scoring the winning goal in a Merseyside derby against Everton on his debut but also drawing criticism for his role in defeat to Swansea City and a draw with Tottenham Hotspur.
Lovren has started alongside Van Dijk twice during that time and acknowledged that there is still room for improvement for the Dutchman, but believes that the early signs have been encouraging.
"I think he is doing quite well. He will do better and better every time [he plays] and he is a top defender. It's still fresh, everything for him is new. We are still adapting to each other," Lovren told LFC World.
"He has all the backup from us. We are helping him and we haven't had many times to play with each other and to be honest only had a couple of training sessions together [before the first game] so it's still an adaptation. But I think we have done it quite well.
"You need to have time for adaptation. Players are young, but expectation is big. It's difficult sometimes to cope with that. We need to support him and stick with him even in tough times like with me in the beginning. When I came here, it was a little bit rough but he is a big man, a big guy who believes in himself and that's the most important thing."
Liverpool's next match comes at home to West Ham United on Saturday.
Barney Corkhill
