JAN Vennegoor of Hesselink believes that today's Old Firm match could "make or break" Ronny Deila as Celtic manager.

The 36-year-old Dutchman, who will attend the League Cup semi-final as a guest of the Parkhead club's sponsors Magners, would love to be playing rather than taking in the match as a supporter, but he knows the first Glasgow grudge match for nearly three years could have transformative power for the Norwegian. While a sizeable win would book a place in his first major final at the club and help win over the doubters, the consequences of defeat hardly bear thinking about.

"Sometimes certain games can make or break something," said Vennegoor of Hesselink. "I remember when Lenny got control and he lost the cup semi against Ross County. He got a beating from that a little bit, but he came out stronger.

"But this is a Rangers game and Ronny will be focussed on this game because he knows how bad it would get if he didn't win it and how he would get it off of you guys," the Dutchman added. "He will enjoy this occasion but you know how it goes, the pressure from the fans. I read on the internet in Holland now 'Celtic needs to win', 'Celtic needs to win'. He experienced it a little bit after he got thrown out of the Champions League. Let's just say it would be better for him if he won. He doesn't know how big it is because he's never experienced it."

Vennegoor of Hesselink has already had one failed attempt to put these two sides together. He was unable to sate the yearning for these two Glasgow rivals to meet when he conducted the Scottish Cup fourth round draw back in November 2012. "I did a draw for the cup 18 months ago and everyone was saying to me, 'get the balls together' to get the game back," he said. "So it's good to have it after three years. In Holland people still talk about it - I was asked to be a presenter for the game on Dutch TV but I'd already said I was coming to Scotland. I'm not objective about it and I want one side to win, hopefully in a good way. But it's a cup game and you can't under-estimate anyone."

The Dutchman certainly ran the gamut of emotions in this fixture. His debut came in a 2-0 win at Celtic Park, and he had just arrived onto the Hampden pitch in the 120th minute when Aiden McGeady's penalty clinched a 2-0 League Cup final win in 2009. "For sure, I have the medal," he said. "I wanted to take the penalty but McGeady took it for 2-0. I'd had an injury in my adductor and I hadn't had a lot of games. The day before the manager told me I wasn't playing. I was disappointed but Darren O'Dea scored to put us ahead. The atmosphere was hostile but in a good way."

He only scored once on Old Firm duty but it wasn't the worst goal to have on your resume. It was a 90th minute winner in a 2-1 win at Celtic Park in April 2008, which sparked scenes of fury involving the normally mild-mannered David Weir and Gary Caldwell, the first instalment of two wins in 10 days which took Celtic to an unlikely SPL title win.

"It was a nice moment to score the goal. There was ten days between two of them and all the battles are still fresh when that happens. Paul Hartley and Barry Robson had a good influence on the pitch, Scottish boys who knew what it meant. There were some rough tackles and crazy stuff but when I look back it was great to be involved."

An altogether less pleasant memory was a sending off in a 4-2 defeat at Celtic Park, a match in which his old strike partner Kenny Miller scored two for the visitors. "I got so caught up in it and thought I was going to change everything," he recalled. "There had been a red card from Daniel Cousin, and I remember being so hyped up coming onto the pitch. I had a tussle with Kirk Broadfoot, there was some pushing and shoving, and the referee saw a little bit more from me than from him and I got the red card. When I look at it, it was a stupid, stupid thing. But that is what it does to you."

Jan was speaking on behalf of Magners, main sponsor of Celtic FC. Follow @MagnersUK for weekly Celtic promotions and exclusive content