Celtic will be among the lesser lights in Thursday's draw for the last 16 of the Champions League but their players insist it would be wrong to assume the run ends there.

The Scottish champions have earned widespread plaudits for their progression from a group which included Barcelona, Benfica and Spartak Moscow.

Intrigue now surrounds who Neil Lennon's team will be paired with when the draw takes place in Nyon.

Beram Kayal, the Celtic midfielder, said after Saturday's win over St Mirren that he believes this European journey can be extended even further.

"We are still hungry to prove a lot in Europe," Kayal said. "Two months ago, no one believed we could make it to the last 16. The manager changed the mentality for the players. It is a young squad and nobody wants to stop now. We are looking forward to more success and to taking the team forward.

"We don't think the last 16 is the maximum possible for this team. I don't agree with the people who say it is. Maybe we can surprise them again."

Kayal broke with what is standard protocol by volunteering who he would like to face in the knockout stage.

"I think Málaga would be a brilliant draw for us," he said. "We need to do the job in the Champions League. We want to believe we can win against anyone, because we are professionals. We are playing on a higher level now.

"There is no one we want to avoid in the draw. We would be happy to take Málaga but we just need to wait until Thursday to see."

Despite indifferent SPL form, Celtic are four points clear in the table while holding a game in hand. Goals in either half from Victor Wanyama and Gary Hooper swatted St Mirren aside.

"The SPL is very different from the Champions League and we are trying to change the mentality, to make sure we also win games in the SPL. It is not easy to change from one to the other," Kayal said. "I think we are in a good position now, four points clear with a game in hand. I think it is possible we can have a big advantage at the top of the SPL by the time the next Champions League game comes around.

"We try to do the maximum in the league, it's not easy to play in four competitions," he said.

"But we have a big squad and we will try to do the maximum in the SPL now, because we know it is important for us if we want to be in the Champions League again next season."