Ange Postecoglou's Grand National tip as Celtic boss pins colours to mast ahead of potential Killie pie debut

Ange Postecoglou has confirmed he will not be indulging in the great British tradition of having a flutter on the Grand National on Saturday.

The Celtic boss will be much too busy concerning himself with preparing his side for the trip to Kilmarnock the following day and the chance to take another step towards landing a second successive Scottish Premiership title. But while the Australian may not consider himself a betting man – despite recently being branded “lucky” by his Rangers rival Michael Beale – he is happy to pin his colours to the mast when it comes to predicting the winner of the world famous race at Aintree. Asked for his tip for the Grand National, Postecoglou replied: "Not my field, unfortunately. I do apologise. But if the jockey is wearing green, go for that!"

It seems Postecoglou may be a little more willing to partake in an altogether different tradition this weekend with the 57-year-old admitting he has yet to sample the delights of the famous Killie pie Asked if he had tasted the Rugby Park delicacy since arriving in Scottish football, the former Australia head coach replied: "No mate, is there some peculiarity that distinguishes it from other pies?" Informed that they are considered – by some – to be the best pies in Scotland, he responded: “If I get the chance, I will. Post game mate, not during."

What Posteocglou is definitely not a fan of, however, is Kilmarnock's astroturf pitch – or any artificial surfaces for that matter. “I’m not a fan of it because it changes the game.,” he said. “But ultimately that’s the challenge that’s there. To be fair to Kilmarnock we played them pretty early on in the piece and Derek [McInnes] has certainly had more time to get them to adjust to Premiership football since then and their form at home has been strong. I think it will be a really tough challenge for us. But we have been really good all year on focusing on who our next opponent is and making sure we are ready for what’s in store for us. We know if we can play our football and bring our energy and intensity to the game that we can then we are hard to stop."