The 2008–09 season began disastrously as the club exited the UEFA Champions League and European football altogether, losing 2–1 on aggregate to Lithuanian side FBK Kaunas in the second qualifying round. The first leg at Ibrox finished goalless, but the return leg ended in defeat for Rangers after an 87th-minute header from Linas Pilibaitis. The financial consequences of the failures to qualify for the Champions League were revealed when the club posted a loss of £3.9 million for the six months to December 2008, and in March decided to offer staff the option of voluntary redundancy as a way of cutting costs. There was also mounting pressure on the manager to reduce the first team squad from 28 players to a more manageable figure. The player excess was eased slightly with the departures of Chris Burke, Jean-Claude Darcheville and a couple out on loan deals but the increased debt meant that the club needed to find a cash injection. This resulted in the attempted sale of Kris Boyd to Birmingham City, which fell through due to the player's wage demands.