Brendan Rodgers has hailed the dedication of the Celtic support after around 300 fans made the gruelling 7,000-mile round trip to Almaty, only to watch their side fall short in the Champions League play-off against Kairat.

In all honesty, it was a rotten game, and probably even worse to endure in the stands after all the travelling and jet lag.

Following the penalty shootout defeat, the Celtic boss made a point of acknowledging those in the away end, who had backed the team through 120 tense, frustrating minutes in Kazakhstan.

“The fans, I just wanted to show the appreciation that you can’t underestimate the travel, the finance, the love of the club to be here so far away, and it was just a gesture to say thank you. Obviously we wanted to then go through on the pitch. But yeah, I still think we had opportunities, but over the two legs it was always still in the balance.

“I think back to where we were last year in terms of our speed and quality of football and dynamism and everything else. We weren’t quite that over the two games. It’s a huge disappointment.” [TCW]

If only those who ran the club showed the same amount of support, ambition and love for the team that every single one of those fans in the away end showed. If they did, the atmosphere around the place would be a lot better today, and Celtic wouldn’t be scrambling around in these last few days of the transfer window for signings.

It was another sobering European night for Celtic supporters, who once again travelled in numbers and with hope only to return home empty-handed. Their commitment, however, was not lost on the manager, even as his side failed to match it on the pitch.

They’ll all be making their way home now, with league action on Sunday at Ibrox.