Liverpool look set to miss out on Europe's top competition next season as they require both Manchester United and Newcastle United to lose their final two matches of the season to stand any chance of making the top four.
A 1-1 draw with Aston Villa on Saturday effectively killed their top four prospects.
A summer of change beckons for Liverpool with the likes of James Milner, Roberto Firmino, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Naby Keita all leaving at the end of their contracts.
Any new signing will have to make do with Europa League football for next season but Van Dijk says missing out on the Champions League will not affect their transfer activities in the summer.
“Obviously the chances to reach Champions League football were quite slim but now it makes it more difficult,” said the Netherlands captain.
“Pre-season will be massive. I’m very excited for next season. I think that feeling came a couple of months ago when we turned the page.
“Obviously there’s still a lot to work on but the good thing in this case is that we have the whole pre-season to work on this and that’s definitely the plan.
“The noises I’m hearing, it’s going to be a very intense pre-season with a lot of physical work but also a lot of tactical work trying to get ready for a tough season.
“Players are leaving, hopefully players come in and will be ready for the start of pre-season.
“Everybody knows we’ve been going through a little bit of a transition and, if I’m a player on the rise and I have options to go to the next step and Liverpool is knocking on my door, then I would be very interested.
“I don’t think it’s going to change much but, if someone wants to play Champions League no matter what then that’s their ambition.”
