Vennegoor of Hesselink scored his first goal since September during Celtic's 4-0 win over Hamilton on Saturday.

The 30-year-old recently revealed he had not begun talks over extending his stay at Celtic beyond the summer, and former Parkhead striker Frank McGarvey argued that even another 10 goals should not earn him a new deal.

But McDonald and manager Gordon Strachan have pointed to the 30-year-old's attitude and contribution in other areas as evidence of his worth to the team.

McDonald said: "You always want to keep good players, and experienced players.

"He has been in title-winning sides, not just at Celtic, but at PSV. He has got that winning mentality, which you need to have at a club like this.

"Even through the bad times he has been a fantastic character around the changing room. His confidence never leaves him and even if he is down, he doesn't show the rest of the players that's the case.

"That's the type of professional that he is, and that's the type of people you want around your dressing room.

"If you're asking if I want him here next year, and to have a partner like that, then of course I do, it would be a pleasure."

Strachan urged supporters to look at the Dutchman's winning record rather than just his goal tally.

Celtic continue their quest for a fourth successive Clydesdale Bank Premier League title when they host Falkirk tomorrow.

But Vennegoor of Hesselink is chasing his fifth after winning two each with PSV Eindhoven and Celtic in the last four seasons.

"It's a fantastic record," Strachan said. "Other people might score more goals but he has got a lot of championship medals."

The Celtic manager admits he has noticed a difference this week in the Dutchman and Georgios Samaras, who ended a 13-game barren spell for his club with a double against Accies.

Strachan said: "I think he's a bit more relaxed I would say, him and Sami.

"The output in terms of how they train has never changed. He is a top pro and Sami's the same.

"You can see they're a bit more relaxed and quite rightly so. The players are delighted for them because they have taken a bit of flak."

But he added: "We don't know if they are fully back at it yet. That's a start - they did their job the other day and they did it well."

McDonald has even seen Vennegoor of Hesselink score more in training since netting his third of the season on Saturday.

"It's been a bit better for him," the Australian said. "He has always been smiling, but he's been a bit louder.

"The goals have been coming a bit more frequently in training so hopefully that's a good sign for the future games."

The 25-year-old added: "There has never been anything else than confidence or faith in the two of them. That goes for the rest of us as well.

"We've gone through bad spells since I've been here but we've always bounced back.

"People will say it's taken them a while to bounce back and get goals, but I'm just glad that's past them now. There are plenty of goals to be contributed by everyone in the team."

Celtic could have Paul Hartley back in the squad to face Falkirk after he recovered from the hamstring injury he picked up while playing for Scotland.

Shaun Maloney and John Kennedy will not face Falkirk but they are in training as they bid to return from hamstring and knee problems respectively.

However, Barry Robson is still sidelined by the groin problem that has now kept him out for more than two months.

"Shaun is back training today, John Kennedy started back training with us yesterday," Strachan said.

"Robbo is one we would like to have back, but he's not back.

"It's unfortunate because you saw last year when it came to the run-in, he was a big player for us.

"I bump into him every now and then and he makes me laugh, then I don't see him for a couple of hours.

"But I am looking forward to getting him back on the training field because he is one of the guys who lights up the training field when he comes on."