Brendan Rodgers believes Celtic are heading in the right direction after guiding them into the Champions League group stages on Tuesday.

A 2-0 defeat to Hapoel Be’er Sheva was enough to give them a 5-4 win on aggregate and means the Scottish champions will be in the draw for the final 32 of Europe’s biggest club competition for the first time in three seasons.

The Bhoys headed to Israel looking to protect a 5-2 lead from the first leg but struggled to find their rhythm.

Goalkeeper Craig Gordon saved an early penalty from Maharan Radi but was beaten on 21 minutes by former ChelseaCeltic’s name which will go into the hat for Thursday evening’s draw.

The result marks the first time the Scottish champions have made the group stages of the Champions League since the 2013-14 season.

Speaking afterwards, Rodgers praised the application shown by his players on a tough night in Israel and is confident their achievement is a sign of things to come for the club.

He told the club’s official website: “It was an amazing effort by the players on the back of everything they have been through before, so a huge applause to them and I’m delighted they have got their rewards after a really long pre-season.

“The club has a really positive feel to it at the moment. This was always hopefully going to keep that forward momentum going and this was a huge step for us.”

Celtic will now switch their focus to Saturday’s home game against Aberdeen, a clash they are 1.50 to win, with the draw 4.33 and the Dons priced at 6.00.