Brendan Rodgers has admitted he would have much preferred a short trip to Slovakia rather than a 7,000-mile round journey to Kazakhstan, but says Celtic will be ready for the challenge after Kairat’s penalty shoot-out win over Slovan Bratislava.

Slovan, familiar foes for Rodgers and Celtic after their Champions League meeting last season, missed out on a place in the Champions League play-off after Kairat edged the tie from the spot.

That result means the Scottish champions face a five-hour time difference and a gruelling travel schedule, with the first leg in Almaty next Tuesday evening before a quick turnaround for a league match against Livingston and then the Glasgow derby.

Rodgers told Celtic TV: “Of course, everyone would have preferred a shorter travelling distance, but they got through, they won the tie, so we’ll play the first game of our two legs and our objective is to get through.

“We can really analyse them now and be prepared for the first leg next week.”

The late kick-off in Kazakhstan means Celtic won’t be finishing much before midnight local time, adding another layer to what is already a testing period in the early part of the season. However, Rodgers is backing his squad to manage the demands and secure a place in the group stages.

There probably won’t be any new faces in the squad. Celtic are able to add two players until the day before the first tie, but Rodgers hasn’t hinted that Celtic are in the position to do that.

Speaking last week, he said,

“I really don’t know. That’s my honest answer.

“We just have to keep working to look to get the players in and in the meantime work with the players that are here to make them the best that they can be.”