UNITED HATE MOB WON’T GET LU TO LOSE HIS COOL
Suarez can handle boo boys, says Johnson
GLEN JOHNSON is backing Luis Suarez to drown out the Manchester United hate mob.
Liverpool hot-head Suarez faces a hostile reception when Kenny Dalglish’s side visit Old Trafford on Saturday.
Suarez has only just returned from an eight-game ban for racially abusing United full-back Patrice Evra.
And the controversial Uruguay striker, 25, can expect the same treatment Liverpool fans dished out to Evra in last month’s FA Cup clash at Anfield.
Evra was jeered each time he touched the ball, while the French defender had to put up with chants of “There’s only one lying bastard” as Liverpool won 2-1.
Fresh
But Johnson is confident Suarez will keep his cool and silence the United boo boys when Liverpool look to keep their slim top-four hopes alive.
Reds and England full-back Johnson said: “It is a tough place to go to, Old Trafford, and Luis is a strong character.
“He will try to let his football do the talking.
“He is a fantastic player, he has had a long break now and hopefully he will be fresh and ready to put in a performance at the weekend.
“He’s the sort of player we need in the team.
“He’s going to have a big role to play between now and the end of the season. He’s the sort of player we need in the team.”
Suarez is almost certain to start against United after coming off the substitutes’ bench to play the last 24 minutes in the 0-0 draw with Spurs on Monday.
He immediately picked up a booking for kicking Scott Parker in the stomach.
United striker Wayne Rooney used his Twitter account to say: “If ref sees that kick from suarez and books him for it it should be red.”
Rooney’s comments will not have gone down well at Anfield.
The return of Suarez is a massive boost for Liverpool and Johnson insists the team are playing better than one particular statistic seems to indicate.
The draw with Spurs was their eighth at Anfield this season from 12 Premier League games.
“Eight draws out of 12 doesn’t sound good,” added Johnson.
“But I don’t think the performances have reflected that.
“We’ve played better than that suggests and have deserved more points – but that’s the way football goes.
“We have to move on as we’ve got a big game on Saturday.”