DOWN AND OUT

CELTIC'S failure to strengthen their attacking options came back to haunt them as they missed out on the Champions League following a goalless 210 minutes against Kairat Almaty.

- Gavin McCafferty

The Scottish champions lost 3-2 in a penalty shoot-out in Almaty, a Kazakhstan city 250 miles from the Chinese border.

The relationship between the Celtic fans and their board will now be equally distant after manager Brendan Rodgers did not get the attacking options he has been calling for since July.

Adam Idah, Luke McCowan and Daizen Maeda all saw their efforts saved by Kairat's 21-yearold second-choice goalkeeper Temirlan Anarbekov in the shoot-out after Maeda missed a glorious chance shortly before Celtic dominated in extra time.

Celtic have failed to add any wingers following Jota's longterm injury in May and the sale of Nicolas Kuhn to Como more than six weeks ago. And Shin Yamada, the only experienced striker to arrive since Kyogo Furuhashi left in January, stayed on the bench in the second leg.