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It was a sombre, crestfallen Brendan Rodgers who shuffled into the room deep within the bowels of Wembley to face the media after another chastening afternoon.

“We are a team that is growing,” pondered the Reds boss. “All these experiences will hopefully help in the future.”

But dismal FA Cup semi-final defeat to Aston Villa wasn’t just a steep learning curve for the younger members of the Liverpool squad.

For Rodgers, too, new ground was being broken, albeit painfully so.

When Raheem Sterling errs off the pitch or Emre Can blunders on it, there’s always a caveat that, quite rightly, tempers any criticism.

They are young footballers. They’ll learn from it.

The same, however, doesn’t seem to apply to young bosses. And, given his meteoric rise up the ranks and supreme self-belief, it’s easy to forget Rodgers remains very much in the formative stages of his managerial career.

The Northern Irishman has been a manager for six-and-a-half years; a Premier League boss for less than four.

Compared to most other top-flight managers – and most certainly those challenging for a top four berth – Rodgers is a mere pup.

Yes, Villa counterpart Tim Sherwood has even less experience in the hotseat. But at least he can point to an entire playing career at the top level, skipper of a title-winning team.

Of course, there’s an argument Liverpool shouldn’t be a finishing school for up-and-coming managers.

But the reality is that’s where they are at. Fenway Sports Group wanted a younger man at the helm to replace Kenny Dalglish and, in Rodgers, they snared one of the most highly rated.

And he’s not the finished article yet.

This was his first FA Cup semi-final. In January came his first League Cup semi-final. Earlier on, his first Champions League campaign. Last season, his first championship challenge.

Rodgers won at Wembley in the play-off final with Swansea City, but the expectation and pressure in taking to such a stage with Liverpool is far removed from that on the South Wales coast.

And, just as his beaten players will reflect on their own performance against Villa, so too must the Reds boss.

By switching formations so readily throughout the course of the match, it prompted a sense he may be panicking, more reactive than proactive – a rare criticism for a manager who has forged a reputation on a steadfast belief in his methods and approach.

Indeed, the sight of Liverpool lumping balls into the area late on to substitutes Rickie Lambert and Mario Balotelli went against everything Rodgers had professed on his arrival at Anfield back in the summer of 2012.

That, though, is because he has changed his outlook, compelled to become more pragmatic by his available resources. He’s shown he can adapt.

Given Sherwood and Villa had all the answers at Wembley, questions will now be asked of Rodgers, although the kneejerkers are way off the mark by imploring FSG to cut the boss loose with Jurgen Klopp becoming available this summer.

“In a semi-final, you don’t have a second chance,” said Rodgers while lamenting his team’s failure to do themselves justice.

Rodgers, though, has banked enough goodwill to avoid a summer of speculation over his future.

The Reds boss got it wrong too often at Wembley. But Rodgers, like his players, will learn from the experience. He has to.