"I have said to the players it is never going to leave them," the Pittodrie manager said. " In ten years, in 20 years, they will look back and say 'what a chance we had'. Some of them might never have that chance again. It is one of the worst moments of my career. I hope the players are feeling the same way."

He didn't have to think hard to come up with reasons why his team squandered a cup final, a potential route into Europe and a final hurrah for a see-saw season.

"You can see for yourself we were sloppy from the first minute," he said. "When you start as we did, normally you lose football games. Four goals in any game is a joke and to do it again in a semi-final (after the 4-1 League Cup defeat against Dundee United] is massive disappointment."

After a number of Aberdeen scarves were thrown trackside, Calderwood insisted he understood the frustrations of supporters who he acknowledged had come out in impressive numbers. He said they were "great again today after being great following us in Madrid and Munich".

However, he certainly won't give them the resignation they would probably welcome.

"Certain players have contracts," he said. "We have to look at it in the week but it has certainly given us food for thought. Our defending was awful as it has been all season.

"There was no organisation, no talking."

Calderwood won't want to hear what Aberdeen supporters have to say about him right now.