ANJ POSTECOGLU called on Celtic to use the injury at Hampden as motivation to secure the title.
The hoops were stunned as Rangers came from behind to secure a 2–1 win over Hampden after extra time.
Celtic’s treble bid is over, but Postecoglu expects a big reaction from Premier League leaders against Ross County next weekend.
He said: “We had to be resilient throughout the year and this is another challenge for us.
“We are disappointed that we did not make it to another final, we are disappointed for our fans.
“We have five games to focus on winning the league starting next week.
“We need to make sure we use this disappointment to spur our efforts on the next game series.
“Of course we are disappointed with the result - it was an opportunity to reach the final that we didn’t take.”
Celtic led Greg Taylor and Cameron Carter-Vickers hit the crossbar from close range.
Scott Arfield made it 1-1 and an own goal from Karl Starfelt took the Rangers to the final on May 21 against Hearts.
Postekoglou said: “It was a typical semi-final, a very tense game between both teams, and everything was decided by the game moments.
“We had our moments and they had theirs, unfortunately they were the ones who crossed the line.
“That’s how these games are usually decided, when you have two strong teams, they are rarely open.
“We had the opportunity to take a 2-0 lead, but it was not used. They went to the other end and scored.
“This is cup football. It is human nature to feel the reaction, to accept the consequences in the form of elimination from the competition.
“It tends to mean players are a little more conservative in terms of how we play our football, how we push them, what you have the freedom to do in league play.
“I didn’t feel like it was a game that we got out of control… maybe we got a little off track in extra time.
“But in the end they took advantage of the extra time and won the game.”
Rangers finished the game stronger despite playing 120 minutes against Braga in the Europa League on Thursday night.
But Postecoglou insists he never believed the Ibrox side would physically collapse.
He said: “I would not attach too much importance to this. In the end, the two teams give their best until the last minute.
“So much is at stake. 28, 29, 30 players who came out today gave everything they could. This is what you expect.”
Taylor, Josip Djuranovich and Liel Abada left with injuries, while Cameron Carter-Vickers limped at the end.
Postekoglou said: “All the players have given everything, there is nothing left. I haven’t talked to the doctors yet.”
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