Brendan Rodgers marched around the Central Stadium pitch before kick-off to salute the supporters who’d made the mammoth trek across the world to roar on their team. ‌

By the end he knew deep down their club had sold them short. Rodgers picked his words carefully – as he always does – but the pain was etched all over his face. ‌

When it was put to him that a huge part of the failure to get past a stubborn but limited Kairat over two legs to reach the Champions League , there was a sigh. Or maybe a grimace. ‌

This hurt. It hurt Rodgers personally because he knows it all could – and should have been so different.

Landing the Kazakh outfit in the draw was always going to be a stinker. There’s the journey, the time difference, the attitude and the junior quality pitch.

But it coul

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