Swansea are play off underdogs says Brendan Rodgers

Rodgers was appointed Swansea manager in July 2010

Manager Brendan Rodgers believes Swansea are the underdogs among the four teams who will contest the Championship play-offs.

Swansea finished third in the Championship table following a 4-0 victory over Sheffield United.

And Rodgers' side will face Nottingham Forest over two legs in the play-off semi-finals with Cardiff facing Reading.

"I feel that we are the underdogs going into it," Rodgers told BBC Wales.

"If you look at the clubs and the experiences of those clubs in the play-offs then certainly we are a way down the pecking order.

"But it won't stop us. We're very confident. We're new to it so we'll go and embrace it and enjoy playing how we play."

The Swans go Forest for their semi-finals first leg at the City Ground on Thursday, having beaten their rivals 3-2 in their most recent encounter in March.

However, Forest had beaten the Swans 3-1 at the City Ground last September.

"It's going to be a hard game," added Rodgers. "They've had a good season [and been] up there challenging.

"We're very confident that no matter what, we can go in over two legs and get a positive result.

"We've got big respect for them and every other team that's in there."

Swansea finished the regular season with a 4-0 home win against Sheffield United with Stephen Dobbie scoring twice.

Rodgers, in his first season in charge at the Liberty Stadium, was full of praise for his side's endeavours.

"[I'm] very proud of the team, not just for today's game but for the season," he said.

"To go from seventh [last season's final position] and to just miss out on a top two is a fantastic achievement by everyone at the football club.

"We finished off at home how we started at home with a 4-0 victory and an outstanding performance."