Reds boss Dalglish claimed he was not frustrated by being held after controlling the Premier League match for the most part on Monday night.

“We’re in a better position than last year,” he said.

“We’ve got a cup final to look forward to and we’re in the fifth round of the FA Cup.

“Like any team, we’d like to convert more chances, but there’s not many other teams that have constructed as many chances as us.

“We’re three-quarters of the way there.

“The most important thing for us was we were really pleased with the way the team played.

“We’ve played a lot of top sides here, Tottenham are a top side and we’ve done well.”

Liverpool welcomed back Luis Suarez, following his eight-game ban, as a 66th-minute substitute and the Uruguayan almost marked his return with a late winner, but could only head at Brad Friedel.

“It’s fantastic for us to get him back,” Dalglish said.

“He should never have been out in the first place.

“It would have been totally unfair to start him given he’s not started since Boxing Day.”

Meanwhile, Spurs midfielder Scott Parker admitted his side missed absent manager Harry Redknapp.

Redknapp failed to make the trip to the north-west after spending the day at London’s Southwark Crown Court, where he has been for the last few days contesting two charges of cheating the public revenue.

Without their manager at Anfield, Spurs relied on a man-of-the-match performance from Parker as they held the Reds to a seventh draw in their past nine home league games.

“Harry gives that extra bit of energy. We’ve missed him the past couple of weeks,” Parker told Sky Sports 1.

“We’ll be absolutely delighted when he comes back.

“It was a tough night. When you come to Anfield it’s difficult and tonight was no different.

“I thought we were a little but one-paced tonight.

“We’ve come and got a point, kept a clean sheet and that’s most important thing.”

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Athletic Bilbao midfielder Oscar de Marcos insists his side will show giantkillers Mirandes total respect on Tuesday night as the two clubs battle at San Mames for a place in the Copa del Rey final.

Athletic, whose record of 23 Copa titles is second only to Barcelona (25), are favourites heading into the semi-final second leg after earning a 2-1 lead from last week’s first meeting at Mirandes’ Anduva stadium.

However, De Marcos knows they can take nothing for granted against the third-tier side, who have already knocked out top-flight sides Villarreal, Espanyol and Racing Santander on their fairytale run to the last four.

De Marcos said in Marca: “We need to have a lot of respect because Mirandes have earned it. They’ve knocked out three Primera Division clubs and that hasn’t been by luck or accident.

“The (first leg) result is good, but we need to wait and see what happens tomorrow. We know that it will be difficult and, because of that, we are going to put all our effort into it.”

De Marcos also hopes his side’s fans can help send Athletic through to the final, recalling the semi-final against Sevilla in 2009 when the Basque side overturned a 2-1 first leg deficit with a 3-0 home win to progress through to the final on aggregate.

He added: “They have to support and help us because we are strong at San Mames thanks to them.

“Even though Mirandes are a Segunda B side, we need the support of the fans, like in that semi-final against Sevilla.”

If Athletic do get through then they could face a repeat of that 2009 final against Barcelona, which they lost 4-1, as Pep Guardiola’s men are in the other semi-final against Valencia.

That match is tied at 1-1 going into Wednesday’s second leg at the Nou Camp, where Barca have been in stunning form this season and averaging around four goals per game.

Valencia have had a day less to prepare for the fixture after playing out a goalless draw with Atletico Madrid at the Vicente Calderon last night, 24 hours after Barca beat Real Sociedad 2-1, but coach Unai Emery insists his side will be up for the cup clash nevertheless.

“We would’ve like more rest, but it’s not to be. We are going to give it everything in the cup and we are going there highly motivated,” said Emery.

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Defence barrister John Kelsey-Fry QC launched a fierce attack on the Crown for using a News of the World investigation as its “crucial lynchpin” in the case.

“There is an inherent absurdity that shrieks out at you” in some of the allegations that Redknapp took £189,000 in bungs, he told London’s Southwark Crown Court.

Betting odds crashed for Redknapp being the next Premier League manager to be sacked two days before allegations were made public, jurors were told.

Mr Kelsey-Fry said bookmakers slashed bets from 50/1 to evens after a flurry of wagers on the Friday before accusations against Redknapp and co-defendant Milan Mandaric appeared in the Sunday tabloid.

In his closing speech, the barrister said the Crown was relying on “primarily despicable” evidence gathered by reporter Rob Beasley.

He said: “I do not shrink from suggesting to you it is repugnant to all our basic instincts of fairness in the criminal justice process.”

Referring to interviews carried out Mr Beasley, Mr Kelsey-Fry said: “They saw a great story, all’s fair in love and war at the News of the World.”

Redknapp and Mandaric, his former chairman at Portsmouth, were an “odd couple” like the old Hollywood film, the court heard earlier.

They were compared to the characters portrayed by Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau as Mandaric’s defence barrister Lord Macdonald QC said the prosecution was “really flailing” with “paper-thin” explanations for the Monaco payments.

Lord Macdonald also highlighted Mandaric’s multibillion-pound business dealings, saying: “Steve Jobs doesn’t work with fools.”

“It’s really desperate stuff” to suggest Mandaric might have intended the payments as a reward for Portsmouth beating Manchester United, jurors heard.

It also “simply doesn’t make sense” that the first payment was a bonus for the £3million profit made over the sale of Peter Crouch from Portsmouth to Aston Villa, Lord Macdonald said.

“We say the evidence against him is hopelessly weak,” he said.

The barrister added that “there’s nothing even slightly sinister” about the actions.

“In Milan Mandaric’s mind this was not money for Crouch, this was Milan Mandaric coming through on money he had promised months before – for a portfolio,” the barrister said.

As a “non-dom”, it made no sense for Mandaric to pay the money into a UK account, jurors at Southwark Crown Court heard.

Lord Macdonald said the pair had an “emotional relationship, at times a tempestuous relationship, at times a love-hate relationship”.

They are an “odd couple, a bit like the old film”, he added.

“An odd couple, different men, different backgrounds… but I would suggest a deep affection,” Lord Macdonald said.

“Mr Mandaric had no fear describing his emotions towards Mr Redknapp, he said he loves them.”

Both Redknapp, 64, of Poole, Dorset, and Mandaric, from Oadby, Leicestershire, deny two counts of cheating the public revenue when Redknapp was manager of Portsmouth Football Club.

The first charge of cheating the public revenue alleges that between April 1 2002 and November 28 2007 Mandaric paid US $ 145,000 (£93,100) into the account.

The second charge for the same offence relates to a sum of US $ 150,000 (£96,300) allegedly paid between May 1 2004 and November 28 2007.

The court was adjourned until Tuesday when Judge Anthony Leonard will begin summing up evidence.