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Dalglish: Suarez saga handling not behind my sacking

Kenny Dalglish says his sacking had nothing to do with the Luis Suarez situation © Getty Images

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Kenny Dalglish has dismissed suggestions that the way he conducted himself during the Luis Suarez racism row was responsible for him losing his job at Liverpool.

Dalglish was sacked in May after guiding the club to eighth place in the Premier League, their lowest finish since 1994, but also to their first trophy in six years when winning the League Cup.

Liverpool's season was overshadowed by the controversy surrounding Suarez, who was banned for eight matches after being found guilty of racially abusing Manchester United defender Patrice Evra during a league game last October.

Dalglish strongly defended the Uruguay international, and came in for heavy criticism as a result.

The club were also attacked for their stance, with players wearing t-shirts in support of Suarez before a league match at Wigan last December - an act which Dalglish recognises was "misguided", and insists was nothing to do with him.

Instead, the former Liverpool manager indicated that at least some of the blame for the club's handling of the Suarez issue should lie with owners Fenway Sports Group.

Asked whether his approach to the Suarez issue cost him his job, Dalglish told talkSPORT: "I don't think so. That was up to them [the owners].

"I can go to sleep at night knowing what I did, I did to the best of my ability. And if that does not come up to their expectations or they want to go in another direction - they own the club.

"The owners made the decision they thought was best for the club. They don't want to make a decision which is detrimental to the club because if they did that they would hang themselves because they have a huge investment in it.

"I think anything that is not done in a positive manner cannot help you, but I was only the manager. There are other people with greater intelligence than me and greater responsibilities than me when it comes to something like this."

Speaking specifically about the players' wearing of t-shirts to support Suarez, Dalglish said: "The t-shirts were the players wanting to show their support for a team-mate.

"It might have been misguided and not have been right but it was not me who decided it. A lot of things were misguided, misinterpreted and misrepresented. I was always brought up to tell the truth and what I believed to be the truth I said.

"If it ever came up again I would do it differently - I would be less helpful and less forthcoming and I think that is sad."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.