‘Trophies are brilliant but for me it’s always been about seeing players improve’

Callum McGregor and Olivier Ntcham got the goals in the final, but with the taste of success still resting on their taste buds, Rodgers was quick to call for further improvement next season.

“I need to push even harder now next year in relation to developing the players here first and foremost,” he explained. “And then bringing in players who can make a difference. It’s a constant need to improve.

“We have a really young group that are improving and developing but to make a difference at that level needs greater quality. We have to invest and improve. But the reality is that we can’t spend fortunes because there’s not masses of money there to do that.

“The trophies are always brilliant, they’re there in the cupboard but for me it’s always been about seeing players improve. That’s what my strength is, I think. So seeing individuals get better, which hopefully makes the team better and should accumulate most of the time in winning – that’s the biggest thing.

“I think what we gained from this year is that when you’re not always at your best you can still win. That’s important. We had 61 games, that’s a lot of training and preparation and big-game mentality. The players will come out of this confident. They will get a bit of a longer rest this time as well. As a manager I have to push them harder.”