New Celtic recruit Nat Phillips has spoken of his excitement at representing the Bhoys in the UEFA Champions League over the coming months.
Celtic open their Champions League campaign with a trip to Feyenoord on Tuesday next (live on RTÉ2), and Phillips is looking forward to building on the experience he gained in the competition with Liverpool.
The 26-year-old defender recently joined Celtic on loan from the Merseyside outfit, in a deal that runs until January.
"It is really exciting. It is probably the pinnacle of football for a lot of players," said Phillips of the upcoming Champions League experience.
"I have loved every time I have been out in the Champions League, it is obviously that next level, competing against the biggest and best in Europe.
"At Liverpool, those Champions League nights have a reputation for being special and I have heard it is the same at Celtic, so I am looking forward to experiencing that."
Atletico Madrid and Lazio are the other teams that will join Celtic in Group E of the Champions League, with each home and away encounter sure to be massive occasions for the club and its supporters.
Phillips has yet to line out for Brendan Rodgers' side, but he did get a taste of what it means to be a Celtic player, when he watched their recent Old Firm victory over Rangers from within the bowels of Ibrox Stadium.
With Celtic having rejected 700 tickets for the game at their arch-rivals' ground for safety reasons, Phillips remained in the hosts' media room, where he watched the 1-0 win for his new side on television. However, he still left at the end of the match desperate to make his debut, which could come against Dundee on Saturday.
"I was already really excited before that game but it certainly gave me a taste of what it is all about," added Phillips, whose father Jimmy played for Rangers between 1987 and 1988.
"I can't really overstate (how much he is raring to go), I just want to get playing games for the club and get contributing.
"I had to watch it from inside so you could obviously hear the atmosphere but I didn’t get to see it for myself.
"It (fixture) has obviously got a huge reputation and the lads did well to get a result. Obviously I wanted to be in and around the dressing room and amongst the boys, taking it all in.
"Inside the media room itself wasn’t as much fun as it might have been in the stands but at the same time, it might not have been that much fun in the stands as the only Celtic person there but I enjoyed it.
"It was good to be there and supporting the lads. The lads dug in well, it was tough at the end but the lads showed that when their backs were against the wall they can dig in and it was a huge win."
Additional reporting from PA.
Watch Feyenoord v Celtic in the Champions League live on Tuesday, September 19 from 7.30pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player, follow a live blog on the RTÉ News app or RTÉ.ie/Sport
