BRENDAN RODGERS applauded the Celtic fans who had undertaken the marathon journey to back the team in Kazakhstan last night.
And the Hoops boss also praised the attitude of his players after a heartbreaking night of Champions League failure following the inability to score even once in two games plus extra-time against Kairat Almaty.
And then it was down to penalty-kicks with Adam Idah, Luke McCowan and Daizen Maeda all squandering their attempts from 12 yards while the opponents tucked three behind Kasper Schmeichel after the first shot had hit the crossbar.
DISAPPOINTED…Brendan Rodgers after the final whistle in Almaty.
Now the Hoops will miss out on the £40million windfall of football’s most illustrious competition to drop into the Europa League.
Rodgers trudged across the Central Stadium pitch before the kick-off to salute the supporters and the manager said: “I just wanted to show the appreciation. You can’t underestimate the travel, the finance, the love of the club to be here so far away.
“It was just a gesture to say thank you and obviously wanted to then get through on the pitch.
“We had opportunities, but over the two nights, it was always still in the balance. I think back to where we were last year in terms of speed, quality of football, dynamism and everything else.
“We weren’t quite at it over the two games. It’s a huge disappointment.”
Now the team will have to overcome an unexpected setback to prepare for the crucial first Glasgow derby of the season at Ibrox on Sunday where the champions have the opportunity to open a nine-point gap on Russell Martin’s side after just four league games.
Looking at his squad, Rodgers, speaking to the Daily Record, added: “I can’t fault this group of players. From the first day back, they’ve been brilliant.
“Over the course of pre-season, they’ve given absolutely everything.
“Domestically, we’ve started well in the league, but at this level, even with teams that maybe don’t quite have the quality, you still need that little bit of extra finesse and precision.
“So, we obviously missed a big chance. It wasn’t a great game, I don’t think we were watching that as a Champions League football match.”
Unfortunately, for Celtic and the fans, this is as good as it gets in Europe’s top tournament this season.
