Ange Postecoglou revealed Brendan Rodgers was in regular contact with him during his time at Celtic, then outlined his successor’s Champions League aspirations.
The new Tottenham head coach made the move to north London at the end of the season after securing the domestic treble for the Parkhead club.
During two years of success where Postecoglou won five out of six domestic trophies, Rodgers kept in touch.
The former Leicester boss has returned to the Hoops hot-seat for a second spell and is looking to make his mark in the Champions League, where, as cinch Premiership champions, Celtic will enter at the group stage next season.
At his first Spurs media conference, Postecoglou spoke about the Northern Irishman’s return to Glasgow.
He said: “He’s absolutely the right man. He’s a fantastic manager and he loves that football club.
“He was constantly messaging me while I was Celtic manager to make sure that I stayed on track and we had success.
“I’ve exchanged messages with him and he was very, very supportive when I got the (Celtic) role.
“Even when I got this role, he sent me a nice message and I’ve reciprocated and stayed in contact with him and all the staff there.
“I’ve no doubt they’ll have great success.
“Hopefully, they can make an impact in the Champions League, I know that’s what his ambition is.
“That group of players and staff certainly have the capability to do that. Hopefully, that happens.”
Rodgers described Celtic as a “bucket list” club for managers and admitted some soul searching took place before he decided to move from Glasgow, where he had spent two years following his move from Japanese outfit Yokohama F Marinos.
The former Australia, Brisbane Roar and Melbourne Victory boss said: “My wife and my kids loved it up there and my whole family was really happy.
“I’ve got two young ones and they’ve lived abroad their whole life in four different countries.
“We made the decision as a family that wherever my profession took us, we’d go and we’d experience that.
“My wife knows better than anyone, I can’t resist a challenge.
“That’s when I’m at my best and my history is I’ve never stayed too long at too many clubs. I’ve always left when clubs are successful.
“All I’ve tried to do whenever I’ve been, like most managers, is leave the club you’ve inherited in a better place than where you picked it up and hopefully make a positive impact.
“It was a tough decision, for sure. But it was also a tough decision to leave the Australian national team before a World Cup, it was tough to leave Yokohama after winning the championship there.
“You establish relationships with people and these are always tough decisions. For me, I’ve always gone with my gut on these things.
“I know when I’m at my best, and I’m at my best when the challenge is the biggest. I thought this was a challenge that would fit all the things I’m looking to achieve.”
Kilmarnock 0-5 Celtic: Bhoys capture third straight Scottish Premiership title
Celtic have won the Scottish Premiership for the third consecutive season after a dominant 5-0 win at Kilmarnock on Wednesday.
Rangers beat Dundee United 5-2 on Tuesday to make Celtic wait an extra day to secure another league title, but the Hoops brushed aside Kilmarnock with little fuss.
Adam Idah, Daizen Maeda and James Forrest scored in a dominant first half, with Matt O'Riley helping himself to a brace after the interval to cap a memorable display.
Celtic now have an unassailable six-point lead over their Old Firm rivals with one game to play, and they will celebrate their latest crown at home to St Mirren on Saturday.
Data Debrief: Bhoys closing in on rivals
Celtic have won the Scottish title for the 54th time, pulling them within one of rivals Rangers, who have lifted 55.
They have also finished top of the pile in 12 of the last 13 seasons, their only failure to lift the trophy since 2011 coming when Steven Gerrard's Rangers went unbeaten in 2020-21.
Rangers 5-2 Dundee: Cantwell and Wright keep Celtic's title party on hold
Rangers kept Celtic's Scottish Premiership celebrations on ice after Todd Cantwell and Scott Wright inspired a remarkable turnaround to hammer Dundee 5-2 at Ibrox Stadium on Tuesday.
Philippe Clement's side could not afford to drop points in this clash and seemed set to do so after Jordan McGhee bundled home before Antonio Portales headed past Jack Butland in the first half.
Ross McCausland managed to slice the deficit on the stroke of half-time for the hosts, sliding in to convert from Leon King's cross and teeing up a monumental comeback.
The Ibrox crowd were offered further inspiration to keep the title race alive when Cyriel Dessers glanced in from Cantwell's delivery after 52 minutes.
Former Norwich City midfielder Cantwell's fortuitous cross then dipped over Jon McCracken as Rangers hit the front for the first time, before Wright's pair of late finishes sealed the much-needed three points.
Yet this Rangers salvaging act could still matter for little, with Celtic requiring just a point away to Kilmarnock on Wednesday to seal a third successive top-flight trophy.
Data Debrief: Attacking barrage pays dividends
Clement may apportion this victory to Rangers' unrelenting desire to keep the title race ongoing, blasting 31 shots – and 13 of those on target – at the Dundee target for their 3.34 expected goals (xG) tally.
A plethora of attacking opportunities must be credited to star man Cantwell, who created a game-leading six chances – four more than any other Rangers team-mate.
Vilahamn wants to use FA Cup final defeat as 'beginning' for Tottenham Women
Tottenham Women manager Robert Vilahamn believes his side will use their FA Cup final defeat to start something special, rather than ending their good work.
Spurs were hammered 4-0 by Manchester United Women in Sunday's Wembley Stadium showpiece as Ella Toone and Rachel Williams were on target before Lucia Garcia's second-half double.
Vilahamn's side failed to manage a shot on target but the Spurs boss suggested his team will catch up to the women's elite clubs.
"The main thing I said was this is not the end, it is the beginning," Vilahamn said.
"We still have a gap between us and the top teams but that's normal. We are closing the gap but we haven't closed the gap yet."
Tottenham finished sixth in the Women's Super League as well as reaching this final, their first FA Cup showpiece appearance in their short history.
Vilahamn wants his Spurs players to use this defeat as motivation going forward.
"If you take away the feelings right now, you need to look at these players doing some incredible things this year," he said.
"We are at Wembley playing in front of our fans and they are actually enjoying it and staying, and supporting us after.
"We got a good experience today and we are learning how to play at Wembley more times. We need to look at it that way because the players are amazing."
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