By clinching the Scottish Premiership title last week, Celtic secured automatic qualification to next season's UEFA Champions League.

The 2024/25 campaign's competition adopts a new set of rules, which will ultimately see teams playing eight matches instead of six – in a so-called 'league phase' that will replace the familiar group stage as it exists today, wherein teams play four games at home and four away.

In conversation with Celtic TV, manager Brendan Rodgers outlined three reasons why he's looking forward to the competition after the summer break.

He said: "It's very exciting because you get those extra couple of games at that level. For us, whether that's for football development, whether it's financial, it's a huge benefit for a club like ours.

"But from a football perspective, I'm always really excited about testing ourselves against the very best teams."

READ MORE: German Celt sneaks into first-ever game, shares amazing Polaroid snap

Returning his focus to domestic matters, the Celtic manager hailed the achievements of the Celtic FC Women's team, who clinched their first-ever league title last Sunday – when a 90th minute Amy Gallacher strike sealed the deal in dramatic fashion.

As for his own players, they're now in the throes of preparing for Saturday's Scottish Cup Final 2024 at Hampden in their bid for a league and cup double.

"It's pretty much relaxed but focused," said Rodgers of the squad's preparation behind the scenes. "It was nice at the weekend to celebrate, but now our focus is very much on this Scottish Cup final.

"We're preparing to bring a similar performance to what we did against Kilmarnock in the game. So we've had some really good preparation.

"We're playing on a fantastic surface. It's the last showpiece game of the season, and again we want to come and bring our best selves to that, and look to finish what would be a fantastic season."