'No disgrace in losing to Zenit'

Rangers FC duo David Weir and Brahim Hemdani paid tribute to UEFA Cup winners FC Zenit St. Petersburg after the Scottish club's final defeat by the Russian champions. Both players said that Dick Advocaat's side were worth their 2-0 victory, although that hardly tempered the hurt of losing out at the City of Manchester Stadium.

Credit to Zenit
Centre-back Weir told uefa.com: "We are very disappointed. We came here to win the trophy and we didn't do it. I thought the game was very tight, very close, but we've got to give them credit for winning it. They took their chances when they came along."

No regrets
Defensive midfielder Hemdani conceded that Zenit "deserved their win", adding: "I don't think we can have regrets." The 30-year-old Algerian international went on: "We had seen a lot of footage of Zenit and while Bayern might say that Zenit's 4-0 semi-final victory against them was a fluke, we've watched it and it wasn't. They have had a great run, they have knocked out some top teams and today they haven't stolen their victory. What else can I say? They deserved their win."

Great experience
Scottish international Weir also acknowledged his own team's achievement in coming so close to continental honours. At the age of 38, he has enjoyed "a great experience". "All European games are great, and we have had 18 or 19 of them," he said. "Tonight has obviously been the highlight but we really wanted to win the thing. It would have been better if we had done it, but we have come a long way and we'll hope to do well again next year."