Daglish was sacked at the end of last season after the club finished eighth in the Premier League, having won the club’s first trophy in six years with victory in the Carling Cup.
However, the campaign was dominated by the Suarez issue which resulted in the striker being banned for eight matches having been found guilty of racially abusing the Manchester United defender Patrice Evra.
Dalglish was criticised at the time for his belligerent defence of the player and the club’s stance in general – ranging from the T-shirts the team wore at Wigan in support of Suarez to the statements which emanated from Anfield – also came under fire.
Asked whether the Suarez saga cost him his job, Dalglish said: “I don’t think so.
“That was up to them (owners Fenway Sports Group).
“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.
“I think (it was) the club as a whole. It wasn’t just me (making decisions).
“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.”
NEWCASTLE CAREER
In January 1997 Dalglish was appointed manager of Newcastle United on a three-and-a-half-year contract, taking over from Kevin Keegan.
Dalglish guided the club from fourth position to a runner-up spot in May and a place in the new format of the following season's UEFA Champions League.
He then broke up the team which had finished 2nd two years running, selling popular players like Peter Beardsley, Lee Clark, Les Ferdinand and David Ginola and replaced them with ageing stars like John Barnes (34), Ian Rush (36) and Stuart Pearce (35), as well as virtual unknowns like Des Hamilton and Garry Brady.
He also made some good long-term signings like Gary Speed and Shay Given.
The 1997–98 campaign saw Newcastle finish in only 13th place and, despite Dalglish achieving some notable successes during the season (including a 3–2 UEFA Champions League win over Barcelona and an FA Cup final appearance against Arsenal), he was sacked by Freddie Shepherd after two draws in the opening two games of the subsequent 1998–1999 season, and replaced by former Chelsea manager Ruud Gullit.
One commentator has since written, "His 20 months at Newcastle United are the only part of Kenny Dalglish's career that came anywhere near failure".