BRENDAN Rodgers has made securing the services of Stuart Armstrong on a long-term contract his top priority after leading Celtic to only the fourth treble in their history and an unprecedented 47 game undefeated domestic season.

Rodgers, whose side beat Aberdeen in the William Hill Scottish Cup final at Hampden on Saturday thanks to an injury-time Tom Rogic goal to complete their annus mirablis, is optimistic the player will commit his future to the Parkhead club.

The Irishman revealed he had deliberately put discussions with Armstrong, whose current deal expires at the end of next season, on hold until after his side had completed their domes-tic campaign, but is now ready to open talks.

Read more: Scott Sinclair insists Celtic won't stop at the TrebleGlasgow Times:

The news is sure to delight Celtic fans further as the Scotland internationalist, who was once again outstanding at the weekend and netted a first-half equaliser, has become a key member of the first team during the past 10 months.

Rodgers said: “I’m sure it will get tied up. We put it off about ten days ago because I didn’t want it to effect the preparation for this game. But hopefully that can be done afterwards. Stuart in the second half really showed his power, speed and quality and running ability.”

The 25-year-old has been linked with moves to the Barclays Premier League in England as a result of his form with Celtic during the 2016/17 season with Brighton, Burnley and Everton all reported to be monitoring his progress.

Rodgers admitted the Scottish champions would be unable to offer Armstrong and his team mates the money he can receive in England, or in other major leagues in Europe, but would do all they can to retain them.

“I’m realistic,” he said. “Football is about two things for players - game time and money. What we can do is create an environment that is fantastic for them to be in. If they decide to move, it’s okay. We’ll fight to keep them, but if they don’t want to stay, we’ll find someone else. No problem, someone else will come in and play and hopefully do well for us.”

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Rodgers is keen for Celtic to make a greater impact in the Champions League next season will attempt to strengthen his squad further with two or three quality signings during the summer.

However, the 44-year-old admitted it will be difficult for the Glasgow club to progress to the knockout rounds of Europe’s premier club competition or the Europa League due to the spending power of their rival clubs on the continent.

“We want to quality first and foremost,” he said. “That will always be a challenge. Then we have to try and see what we can do. You have to be careful and recognise where we are. We’re 10 times behind budget-wise. You have to be realistic.

“The gauge for us is to measure calmly once we’ve qualified. We would like to be in Europe for the second part of the season, whatever competition that’s in, and that’s a huge, huge ask for a club like ourselves.”

Rodgers, though, confirmed he has received the complete backing of major shareholder Dermot Desmond and chief executive Peter Lawwell and admitted he was pleased to repay the faith of both men with the treble.

“A big thank you to them,” he said. “Because without them giving me the opportunity to man-age, I wouldn’t be here. But they are clever guys - they knew what they were getting!”

The former Swansea City and Liverpool manager, who was appointed last May, admitted the past 12 months had taken its toll on him physically and mentally and confirmed he was in need of a break.

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But he predicted he would be raring to get back into things when he returns for pre-season training next month ahead of the opening Champions League qualifiers at the start of July.

Asked if it had been a draining campaign for him personally, he said: “That’s what it’s like as a manager, at clubs like Liverpool and Celtic, where the expectations are huge and you have to win.

“Throughout my career, because of my journey, there have always been critics. I’ve always had that, every job I’ve been in. There will be critics for this one as well. But that’s the nature of it. We just have to work well and in victory always have humility. Always keep the players feet on the ground.

“We will have a rest now. I’m tired. It’s been a long season, lots of mental and physical effort put in by everyone. We need to rest now and come back refreshed.

“I want to impose a way of playing and working which doesn’t just happen with a click of the fingers. So, yeah, it’s the pressure which is always there. You just manage it and cope with it. But then there is a part of you which has to press the reset button.”

Meanwhile, Rodgers has revealed that he was always confident Aberdeen would be unable to sustain the high-pressing game they were playing in the cup final for 90 minutes and was hopeful that his team would have chances late on.

Asked if he thought the Aberdeen game plan would tire them out, he said: “I thought it could do. I was aware of the conditioning and fitness of our team. When you try to stop a team building up, you have to press high up the pitch and don’t give them time to recover.

“They played quite a specific man marking game, so the condition of our players has to be at a high level. You have to take the opponent for a walk and eventually when you’re making passes and passes and passes, they start to tire.

“That was the message at half time; just keep moving the ball. Be patient and don’t be hurried and then the spaces will open up. As you saw, in the last half hour of the game they started to tire a wee bit.

“It’s not that they’re not fit. It’s a tactic in the game and it’s also the quality of the other team. If the other team can’t keep the ball and move it, find different positions, they will get a rest. But we didn’t allow them too many rests in the second half.”