Liverpool defender Kolo Toure insists a "sad" Steven Gerrard will bounce back after being denied a fairytale FA Cup final farewell.
A 2-1 defeat to Aston Villa at Wembley ended the club's last hope of silverware and meant Gerrard would not be given a perfect send off ahead of his summer move to MLS side LA Galaxy, with the cup final – and what would have been his very last appearance for his boyhood club – falling on his 35th birthday.
However, Toure said the skipper is experienced enough to cope with his personal disappointment, adding that the team was probably more disappointed at not being able to deliver a trophy for fans, who this season had seen their side fail to progress out of the Champions League group stage and lose to Chelsea in the last four of the Capital One Cup.
"You feel bad. It is always difficult when you lose a semi-final like that," Toure told Press Association Sport.
"The defeat is the thing. Of course we wanted to do very well for the last game of Stevie for the club but at the end of the day, we wanted to do it for the fans because this club deserves to have a trophy.
"He [Gerrard] is fine. Of course he is sad, like all the dressing room, but he has been in this game for a long time and he knows how to deal with these situations.
"Collectively we were not very good. Villa really fought and gave everything to win the game."
As a result, Brendan Rodgers became the first Liverpool manager since the 1950s not to win a trophy in his first three years.
The club's Champions League qualification hopes are now looking increasingly distant after Manchester City's win over West Ham on Sunday increased the gap to fourth place to seven points, although Liverpool do have a match in hand.
The Reds boss is sure to find his record coming under more scrutiny over the final six games of the season, however the Northern Irishman insists he and his players will not give up while there is still a mathematical possibility.
"There's an obligation here to fight to the very end," he said.
"We have to fight in every single game now. Of course there will be disappointment over the next couple of days but we're going to have to get ready."
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