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• Evra claims Suárez abused him during game at Anfield
• ‘I have always respected and respect everybody’ – Suárez

Luis Suárez has said he is upset by accusations of racism following Liverpool’s 1-1 draw with Manchester United on Saturday.

The Football Association will investigate an allegation by United’s Patrice Evra that he was racially abused by the Liverpool forward Suárez during the Premier League match.

Liverpool were not immediately available for comment but local media reported the club had said Uruguay international Suárez “categorically denied” the allegation.

“I’m upset by the accusations of racism,” Suárez said on his Facebook and Twitter pages. “I can only say that I have always respected and respect everybody. We are all the same.

“I go to the field with the maximum illusion of a little child who enjoys what he does, not to create conflicts.”

The FA said in a statement: “Referee Andre Marriner was made aware of an allegation at the end of the fixture and has subsequently reported this to the FA. The FA will now begin making enquiries into the matter.”

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Liverpool manager has spent a lot of money on players but it is necessary to compete with Chelsea and Manchester United

The Kop lives in mortal fear of the mediocre buy, the non‑Liverpool signing: a dread that dates back to Phil Babb, Neil Ruddock, Julian Dicks and Jimmy Carter. These unwitting souls are among those blamed for the dilution of the great Anfield tradition of recruiting only aristocrats capable of maintaining the lustre of the Shankly‑Paisley era.

zThis understandable defensiveness is a problem for modern Liverpool managers because each new acquisition undergoes an especially fierce scrutiny, especially if he is British and therefore known to the Anfield jury. Buying an average player to perform a specific function stirs the anxieties of supporters who can reel off the duds of the past 10 years, from Paul Konchesky to Salif Diao, Fernando Morientes and Andrea Dossena, who still guarantee a rueful shake of the head on Merseyside.

Supporters who have witnessed five European Cup wins are within their rights to demand the highest possible standards, but in the current phase of mass transition there is little prospect of instant elevation to the Premier League’s top spot. Kenny Dalglish is rebuilding not for a title push but a solid top-three place from which a proper challenge can then be mounted.

Unless my eyes fail me, Dalglish is organising a staged recovery. And it could be no other way, given the sheer number of passengers and stowaways who packed the squad over a decade of experimentation under Gérard Houllier and Rafael Benítez. The legacy of that transfer trawling still confronts Dalglish, who has so far managed to cull only Konchesky in his summer dealings.

The Englishman, bought by Roy Hodgson to perform a limited service at left-back, was perhaps the unhappiest of all recent temporary Anfield residents. His mother’s brief declaration on Facebook that Liverpool fans were “scouse scum” was unlikely to endear her to the locals. This miserable relationship ended when the son trudged off to the King Power Stadium and Sven‑Goran Eriksson’s Leicester

• American impressed by transformation under caretaker
• Striker Luis Suárez to return for trip to West Ham

John W Henry has given further validation of Kenny Dalglish’s Liverpool reign by praising the “total team effort” that has transformed the club’s season in under two months.

Liverpool’s owners, the Fenway Sports Group, are due to announce a permanent replacement for Roy Hodgson at the end of the season but may revise that time frame in light of the impact made by Dalglish.

Liverpool have risen from five points off bottom place to sixth in the Premier League since the Scot took temporary charge and head to West Ham on Sunday on the back of an eight-game unbeaten run. That sequence yielded a place in the last 16 of the Europa League at the expense of Sparta Prague on Thursday night and has prompted another endorsement of Liverpool’s management team from Henry. The club’s principal owner, posting on his Facebook page, said: “Over the last seven matches, I believe, only one goal (and that may have been offside) has been conceded. Terrific effort on defense with increasing aggressiveness.”

Dalglish has been consulted on Liverpool’s long-term plans by the owners and was instrumental in the combined £57.8m deadline-day outlay on Luis Suárez and Andy Carroll. However, he insists there have been no discussions over his expected promotion from temporary to permanent Liverpool manager. His immediate concern is West Ham where Suárez, who is ineligible for the Europa League, will be recalled to a side that toiled in attack against the Czech champions. Liverpool will give late fitness tests to Steven Gerrard, Martin Kelly, Daniel Agger and Glen Johnson before the game, with the captain still rated as doubtful having missed the last three matches with an adductor strain.

Kelly and Agger were both injured against Sparta and the match-winner Dirk Kuyt believes their contributions have been invaluable to the side’s improved away form.

Under Hodgson Liverpool won one league game away from home in 10 attempts. At West Ham they will be seeking a third consecutive victory in four away league games under Dalglish. “The team is in a much better shape right now,” said Kuyt. “The other thing is that we are not satisfied with the results we have been getting. We are hungry to keep progressing and we are working hard in training. It’s good that we have had six [league] games unbeaten but we won’t be satisfied until we have more.

“We have much more confidence. We have had a lot of clean sheets and defensively we are much stronger. That gives you confidence up front. We have got players to come back and on Sunday, Luis can play. We have got some strength.”

LiverpoolKenny DalglishAndy Hunterguardian.co.uk