Suarez coping well - Adam

Ever since Patrice Evra made allegations that he was racially abused by the Uruguayan back in mid-October, the striker has rarely been out of the spotlight. He has been targeted by opposition players and fans alike, who feel he goes to ground too easily, and when Suarez responded with an alleged offensive gesture after the defeat to Fulham earlier this month he found himself facing a misconduct charge. Any punishment for that offence, with the Football Association still awaiting a response from the individual and also the club on a charge of failing to ensure their players conducted themselves in an orderly fashion, would most likely pale into insignificance against the eight-match ban already handed to Suarez. Since the 24-year-old was found guilty of using insulting words to Evra - which included a reference to the Manchester United defender's colour - on Tuesday the focus on him has gone to a new level. Chants of "racist" and "cheat" were commonplace during the Reds' goalless draw at Wigan but Liverpool and their players - who issued a joint statement and wore T-shirts backing their team-mate on Wednesday night - are standing by Suarez, with an appeal almost certain to be lodged. And Adam praised the way the striker is dealing with the situation. "You saw how he coped with it. That is the way it is," said the Scotland midfielder. "He is a top player and you don't get voted for the Ballon D'or if you are a bad player. "He is a very exciting player and is a good character to have in the dressing room and we are glad he is at Liverpool and nowhere else. "We want to just talk about the game because that is the important thing and everything else is something you deal with. "As a group of players we are fully in support of Luis, have made the statement and everyone knows how we feel. "That is what we discussed and that is the way we will go from now on." Defender Daniel Agger insists football remains the most important matter for the players despite their very public show of solidarity for Suarez. "That is not on our mind. We are playing football and that is most important, we don't think about that stuff," said the Denmark international. "The squad is together, that is the way it is. It (support for Suarez) has never been in doubt. "Of course it is second nature to back our friend but the most important thing is to win football games - it just wasn't a big success at Wigan." Suarez's lawyer back home in Uruguay has already said the player will lodge an appeal but he has not been involved in the process at any stage and Liverpool's legal team will make the final decision. But they will not do that until they have combed through the written verdict of the independent regulatory commission and they are not expected to receive the full paperwork for at least another couple of days. Once the document is in their hands the 14-day period which the club then have to launch an appeal begins. Adam could have helped deflect some of the attention on Suarez had he slotted home a 50th-minute penalty, which the Uruguay international's overhead kick had won after Gary Caldwell handled, but Latics goalkeeper Ali Al Habsi saved to earn his side a precious point. Four different players have now missed spot-kicks this season with Adam's effort in the win at West Brom the only success. That has contributed to a disappointing scoring return of just 20 goals from 17 matches, although that is not from lack of chances. "I never thought I made a good connection with the penalty and the keeper made a good save but I'm disappointed I didn't score," said Adam. "I scored the last one I took and was confident, but I missed it, but if the opportunity comes around again I will be there to try to take another one. "We probably should have killed the game off (at Wigan) but it is one of those things and is difficult to take but we move on to Boxing Day (at home to Blackburn) now."