Luis Suarez is a better man for his brush with adversity, says Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers The Liverpool manager believes that the forward is happier on the field and is less aggressive towards referees. Rodgers also admits that the period was his most testing as a coach and is certain that Suárez can cope with a negative reception at Stamford Bridge this afternoon. "There was a lot of self-reflection and he probably thought he couldn't have gone any lower," Rodgers admitted. I know he was in a real bad place at the time and sometimes in life it takes you to get to that point and you have to assess it and you go one of two ways. In that period there were a lot of difficult moments for him but as he became closer to staying and realising he was going to be playing fairly quickly, he's been exemplary in his behaviour. On the pitch everyone can see the maturity and his level of performance speaks for itself. I can't remember exactly what I said to him immediately after the incident, but I felt he needed to get away totally as soon as he could. I brought him in and we had a conversation that will remain private. His wife's family are in Barcelona so I sent him away because he needed to get out of the country and there's no doubt it was the lowest moment of his career and he probably felt the world was against him. But that's provided the trigger for him to recuperate and he's been outstanding. I think supporters around the country marvel at the talent of him and he's gaining the understanding of the culture here. That's key to it as well. It was a real test. You don't learn [how to deal with something like] that when you're doing your coaching courses.