Louis van Gaal responds to Virgil van Dijk after Liverpool defender makes tactics claim

Netherlands manager Louis van Gaal has reminded Virgil van Dijk that he makes the decisions on team tactics after the Liverpool defender spoke out publicly about his preferred system.

Van Gaal is in the early months of his third tenure in charge of the Dutch team, having taken over from Frank de Boer after last summer's European Championships. The Oranje underperformed at that competition, although they have been showing positive signs under the ex-Manchester United boss.

They qualified for the 2022 World Cup by finishing top of Group G, with Van Gaal overseeing some impressive results - most notably a 6-1 win over Turkey.

However, it would appear there is some friction building in the camp regarding the system the team is going to play, with Van Gaal utilising his preferred three-man defence. It's a setup Van Dijk has made it clear that he is not completely comfortable in.

"Do I like the system? Well, I'm still in favour of 4-3-3 but I'm not the national coach and the national coach has a very strong opinion about it," said the Reds star after the team's 4-2 win over Denmark in a friendly on Saturday.

Van Gaal was subsequently asked about the comments from one of his star players and was emphatic in his response.

"I know he has that preference, he always said this publicly," said the 70-year-old. "We already had this debate when I came here. The manager decides the tactics."

Van Gaal has used a 3-4-1-2 system to great effect on the international stage previously, when he unexpectedly steered the Dutch to the World Cup semi-finals in 2014. And while he will be keen to get the best from Van Dijk, the veteran coach does not come across as someone who will be willing to compromise on his footballing principles.