Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers is confident his side can "make it difficult" for either Bayern Munich or Real Madrid in the Champions League play-off round, but admits it will be a "huge challenge".

The Scottish champions finished the competition's inaugural league phase in 21st place after a 4-2 defeat at Aston Villa, and will discover whether they face either Bayern or Real when the draw for the knockout stages takes place on Friday.

Celtic earned wins over Slovan Bratislava, RB Leipzig and Young Boys, in addition to draws against Atalanta, Dinamo Zagreb and Club Brugge, and Rodgers says they fully deserve their spot in the play-offs.

"We have qualified on merit and showed quality on the way," he said. "It's what the players deserve for what they've given over the course of the eight games.

"We know it's either Bayern Munich or Real Madrid in the next round, so that'll be a huge challenge. We're building confidence and showing we can play and make it difficult for the top teams.

"Whoever we play are clearly top-level teams."

Former Celtic striker Chris Sutton praised Rodgers' side's "maturity" throughout this season's campaign, and agrees the Parkhead club are worthy of a play-off spot.

After a crushing 7-1 defeat by Borussia Dortmund on matchday two, Celtic's chances were written off by pundits, but Villa were the only other team to beat them as they recovered well from their dismal trip to Germany.

"I have been pleasantly surprised by them in this Champions League campaign," Sutton said on BBC Radio 5 live. "They have shown maturity and that they have made progress.

"There is no doubt that Celtic will go into a tie with either Real Madrid or Bayern Munich as massive underdogs, but they have earned the right to be in the play-offs."

Rodgers himself is a fan, and says Celtic's progression is evidence Scottish sides can compete on Europe's biggest stage.

"I've really enjoyed it," he said. "I'm pretty sure there would have been a level of excitement tonight with who you might get. I've enjoyed the variance of the games.

"Scotland gets a wee bit of stick in its football. You can clearly see we have teams who have courage to play. We're nowhere near the resource levels of teams in the Premier League, but we can still be competitive."

The first-half at Villa Park was evidence of that.

Morgan Rogers early double sent the home fans in the famous old ground into ecstasy and memories of the Dortmund drubbing were brought to mind.

However, Celtic weathered the storm and drew level through two Adam Idah goals off the back of some wonderful build-up play.

The hosts' quality shone through after the break, but Celtic gave them a game. Indeed, they were the only side to score at Villa Park in the league phase.

"Celtic stuck at it and you have to give them credit," former Scotland forward James McFadden said on Sportsound.

"They stuck to it and put everything into it. They can take some confidence from it because at times they looked good."

Rodgers was effusive in his praise for the way his players went toe-to-toe with Villa at points.

"The word that strikes me is pride," he said.

"We're coming to a team that over the past couple of years have been at the highest level in the Premier League. We played with so much courage.

"We scored two very good goals, and overall to take the game to injury time was a great effort. We're disappointed to lose but we played our part in a good game.

"That was always the objective, to come in and be competitive at this level."