The Uruguay international has contributed much to that plan, none more so than in Saturday's 1-0 defeat at Stoke when he refused to give up after a frustrating first half. Late in the game the 24-year-old was still causing problems for the Stoke defence; he could have had a penalty when his cross hit Matthew Upson's arm and he then stabbed a shot wide after Peter Crouch had got in the way of goalkeeper Asmir Begovic. Suarez has been Liverpool's stand-out player since arriving from Ajax in January but thinks Kenny Dalglish's summer recruitment drive - bringing in Stewart Downing, Charlie Adam, Jordan Henderson, Jose Enrique, Craig Bellamy and compatriot Sebastian Coates - has not only added more quality but a greater will to win. "I think a lot of the players who have joined us have come with a real desire to succeed and a determination to make Liverpool the side it was before - always in Europe and always fighting for the league title," said the Uruguayan. Suarez had nothing but good things to report to Coates, voted young player of the Copa America which his country won, when the 20-year-old 6ft 6ins defender moved to Merseyside from Nacional late last month. "The things I told him were stuff about behind the scenes at the club - he already knew about everything else," said the striker. "Liverpool is one of the biggest and best clubs in Europe, and he knows that well enough himself. "He is coming to a team where he can really develop as an individual. "He is still very young and has a lot to learn, but there are some highly-experienced players here who can help him a lot with that. "He is aware of that and he is happy to learn and help the team as much as he can." Coates was an unused substitute at the Britannia Stadium, but what he will have seen will have given him encouragement as despite the defeat the Reds were the better side and were able to compete physically with the Potters, something they have not always done in previous trips. And although their unbeaten start to the season came to an end winger Stewart Downing said the players were remaining positive. "The manager said to us after the game to keep doing what we're doing," he told liverpoolfc.tv. "I don't think there was a lot wrong with our performance, we played quite well. "Stoke is a difficult place to go but at times we played some good football and cut through them. "It was 'one of those days' and we couldn't hit the net, but hopefully we'll be able to do it at Tottenham next week. "We're frustrated, but it was positive that we were able to create chances, were still passing and moving, and trying to do the right things. "We were unlucky, but we've just got to keep doing the same things." That was the message Dalglish tried to convey after the game. "We were very disappointed with the result but delighted with the effort and commitment of the players," said the Scot. "The passing was not as good as what it has been it was still good enough to have scored three or four goals. "There was not much more we could have done other than have a bit more luck and a bit more accuracy in front of goal. "It's probably the best 1-0 defeat I've had as manager. "We did play very well. We misplaced a few passes we would normally pick someone out with. "We can correct that. We have done before. I am sure we will go and play very well next week." Liverpool defender Glen Johnson suffered another injury setback at the Britannia Stadium. Having sustained a hamstring strain in the Reds' final pre-season friendly against Valencia he made his first appearance of the campaign as a second-half substitute but suffered a recurrence of the problem.
