Rodgers: Celtic still has 'massive job' in Israel

Glasgow - Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers refused to get carried away after his side took a major step towards qualifying for the Champions League group stages with a 5-2 win over Hapoel Be'er Sheva at Parkhead Wednesday.

The Scottish champion is looking to book a berth in the lucrative group stages of Europe's elite competition for the first time in three years.

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Rodgers - whose first foray into Champions League qualification this season saw the Hoops embarrassingly lose a first-leg tie 1-0 to Gibraltar part-timers Lincoln Red Imps - said there was still work to be done.

"We're not getting carried away. There's still a massive job to do out there. But I think we showed tonight that when the space is reduced we can score goals," said Rodgers.

"If they have to come and attack then there's going to be more space for us to play on the counter.

"It's a three-goal advantage but for us the mentality is that it's 0-0 and we just have to get the job done next week."

Rodgers watched his side make a dream start after a strike from Australian international Tom Rogic and a double from Leigh Griffiths gave them a commanding 3-0 half-time lead.

However, goals from Hapoel's Lucio Maranhao and captain Maor Melikson looked to have changed the complexion of the tie.

With Celtic leading 3-2, Rodgers made a treble substitution and it paid off when Moussa Dembele - the hero of the last round when his penalty sealed victory over FC Astana - headed home three minutes after coming on before captain Scott Brown restored Celtic's three-goal cushion.

"I'm the type of coach who prefers to take the risk because if you take the risk 10 times in a game then probably eight, maybe nine times out of those 10 it will come off," Rodgers said.

"I thought at 3-2 we were better to go on and try and win the game 4-2 or 5-2 than just close it out.

"It allowed us to get an extra attacker into the game and Moussa gets his goal and makes a great contribution to the team.

"It was a brilliant result. You would obviously prefer 3-0 but 5-2 really shows the level that the team played at in a European game where there is everything riding on it," he explained.

"They are nowhere near the finished article yet in terms of what I want them to be but I think they look like a really exciting team that is full of character."