Rodgers: Luis will accept reality

It was the elephant in the Oak Room of the Mansion House last night as the great and the good, including the managers of Liverpool and Celtic, gathered to raise the curtain on today’s ‘Dublin Decider’ at the Aviva Stadium.

And once the formal words of welcome were over, it didn’t take long for the large great beast — in its latest guise as one Luis Suarez — to be dragged front and centre.

It would be understandable if, by this stage, Brendan Rodgers reacted to questions about his wantaway player with reluctance if not weariness or even outright anger. But to his credit, the manager’s demeanour offered substance to his very first response to being asked if he felt he was fighting a losing battle to keep the Uruguayan at Anfield.