The Old Firm rivals meet at Hampden on Sunday for a place in the final with Beale bidding to win his first derby fixture at the fourth time of asking since taking over the Ibrox club in November.

Celtic are all but guaranteed to lift the Premiership title as they lead by 13 points with 15 left to play for, and with the Viaplay Cup already secured, victory over Rangers will put Ange Postecoglou’s side on the brink of a treble.

Lennon won trebles as both player and manager of Celtic, and he believes Beale cannot afford to suffer another loss to their arch-rivals, particularly on the back of a 2-0 defeat at Pittodrie last weekend that hammered the final nail in their title race coffin.

Rangers manager Michael Beale is bidding for his first win over Celtic at the fourth attempt in Sunday's Scottish Cup semi-final. (Photo by Paul Devlin / SNS Group)

"The Aberdeen defeat will be very damaging going into Sunday's game," said Lennon, while speaking about Celtic v Rangers odds. "The fallout from any defeat in Glasgow lasts for a few days and there's a lot of analysis, a lot of criticism, a lot of singling out, a lot of blame.

"Michael Beale will have until Saturday to get the team right and block out all the noise. This is the biggest game of the season and there is no coming back from this, they have to win it. Sometimes you'll find inspiration in desperation.

"From a Celtic point of view, you know, they won't be taking anything for granted either.

"The mentality of this team going into these games has been fantastic. They never look flustered and they never panic. Even when the opposition score, they come back for more. It would be a big shot in the arm for Rangers if they won this game.

"But again, the flip side of that is, it would be a devastatingly psychological blow for the remainder of the season. If Celtic win they're more or less guaranteed a treble and that will be thoroughly deserved."

Rangers manager Michael Beale warned 'no coming back' from Hampden defeat by ex-Celtic boss

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