I’m immensely proud of my players and the supporters should be, too, as it has been a good European campaign for us and games like this have whetted the appetite for more.
When the draw was made the one team I wanted to avoid was Real Sociedad.
It was a really tough one for us but we can be proud of how we have played against a top side in Sociedad and a very good side in Groningen in the previous round.
The noise level in the ground was outstanding and it really carried the players through the game, although it got a wee bit too frantic for my liking once we got the second goal as we went chasing the next one as if it was the last five minutes of the game.
But I can’t be too critical of the players as they gave me everything. I asked them to be brave and I said to them before the game ‘if we are going to go out of Europe then let’s make sure we make them work for it’ and we did just that.
We’re disappointed to lose the game given we put so much into the match but good players affect big games at crucial times and Real Sociedad have several players in their team who can do that.
I was pleased the supporters applauded the team at the end as they realise we gave it everything. We’ve had the supporters with us throughout my time at the club and I am sure they will stay with us during the campaign.
We’re disappointed but it is important we regroup and get ready to go again on Sunday when we start our league season.