Astana boss Stanimir Stoilov believes it is his side and not Celtic who are destined for the Champions League.

For the second year running, the Kazakh outfit stand between the Scottish champions and the £30million windfall that comes with a place in the group stages.

While it was the Hoops last year who marched on after Moussa Dembele's injury-time penalty sealed a narrow 3-2 aggregate win, Stoilov remains confident ahead of Wednesday night's play-off round first-leg showdown at Celtic Park.

The Bulgarian coach declared: "I think that next Thursday we will be participating in the draw for the Champions League. This is the best result for me.

"It doesn't matter how the first game ends. We are still going to be in the Champions League.

"I believe there is no need to motivate my players additionally.

"We know that Celtic is a big team historically and that is our motivation. Another is that the Champions League is in front of us and this is enough for the players to produce a good game.

"I think the team which plays better are going to get through to the group stages.

"We know that Mr Rodgers has had some time to grow and develop his team but we still feel we can get through and succeed."

Astana became the first Kazakhstan team to appear in the group stages when they qualified back in 2015.

But they were denied a return 12 months later when Dembele's fired home his 92nd-minute spot-kick as the visitors lost their head.

They had two players sent off in the chaos that followed that penalty award and Stoilov admits his team need to keep their emotions in check amid the noise and crackle created by Celtic Park's 60,000 capacity.

"Discipline is, of course, the most important thing in the game," said the former Levski Sofia boss. "We would like to play quite confidently although last time our emotions actually let us down.

"But we know it is going to be two games and not one. We know we must keep our emotions for both games and keep our motivation for both games."

Despite having come through four European fixtures, their Betfred Cup romp over Kilmarnock and two Ladbrokes Premiership clashes so far, Rodgers claims none of his men are yet up to full speed in terms of match fitness.

The Kazakhs, on the contrary, are 23 games through their domestic campaign but Stoilov does not buy Rodgers' reckoning.

"In my opinion Celtic are already 100 per cent fit," he said. "They have played six official games and two friendly matches.

"That's enough for a football player to get into good shape.

"Of course there will be a little benefit for us that our championship has already started but our whole team is under pressure.

"We think we have 14 players available but Celtic has 25 to 30 players, so it's hard to say it's a big benefit to us."