Callum McGregor's stunning injury-time strike earned Celtic a dramatic last-gasp win over St Mirren in Paisley and moved them to within four points of Scottish Premiership leaders Hearts.

The captain picked the ball up 30 yards from goal in the 95th minute, shifting it onto his left foot before firing a rocket into the top corner beyond the despairing dive of St Mirren goalkeeper Shamal George.

It was a hammer blow for St Mirren, who had the better of the chances and delivered a performance that deserved at least a point.

Conor McMenamin slid just wide from close range early on and struck a post in the first half. The Northern Irish winger was also penalised for offside after the break when Celtic defender Liam Scales turned through his own goal.

Celtic struggled to make any meaningful attacking inroads against their well-drilled hosts, only having two shots on target - both in second-half injury time.

However, McGregor stood up when his team needed him and used his celebrations to try and cajole the Celtic fans to back the team amid unrest at the club.

St Mirren had chances of their own to win it late on, as Declan John fired straight at Kasper Schmeichel and Mikael Mandron's effort went wide.

Stephen Robinson's side stay ninth, though, and will lock horns with Celtic again at Hampden in the Premier Sports Cup final on 14 December.

One day on from Celtic's AGM being abandoned "because of disruption" - an event interim boss Martin O'Neill described as "sad" - the away end in Paisley again expressed their discontent with the club's leadership.

Loud chants of "sack the board" rang out inside the first minute and again after McGregor's goal.

That dissatisfaction stems from a perceived malaise, a collective belief that Celtic have regressed since they were eliminated from last season's Champions League by Bayern Munich. It is an impasse which has no obvious conclusion.

However, the late goal could prove to be a big moment in Celtic's season - it keeps them in touch with Hearts at the top and provides a boost before a hectic run of fixtures between now and the new year - 10 matches in 38 days.

Still, the eventual successor to O'Neill and Brendan Rodgers will need to find an attacking spark sooner rather than later.

St Mirren kept the Parkhead side at arm's length for the majority of the contest, limiting them to shots from distance.

Daizen Maeda struggled to influence the game against the impressive Alex Gogic, while Johnny Kenny was substituted at half-time after failing to make an impact.

St Mirren have now failed to win in six league outings, around their superb League Cup semi-final victory over Motherwell.

Those results do not reflect some of the performances in that time, though, and based on this showing, they will climb the Premiership sooner rather than later.

Gogic was immense at the back, John was a threat with his direct running and left-footed delivery, while Mandron led the line well and caused Celtic problems with his physicality and work-rate.

They will certainly fancy their chances of springing a shock when they next face Celtic at the national stadium next month.

St Mirren manager Stephen Robinson: "The performance was very good. We've run Celtic very close, been beat by a fantastic goal.

"We had numerous chances ourselves, we pressed them well, showed good quality but the thing we're in control of is finishing those chances. The fine margins are going against us at this moment in time.

"Decisions have to start going for you at some stage. We have to keep producing those performances and trying to catch the teams above us.

"[Conor McMenamin] is not in line with the goalkeeper, does not touch the defender - Liam doesn't see him at all. That's not a factual decision of offside, it's a subjective decision, which the referee should be called over for. I'm sure they'll create some sort of name for it.

"Very, very disappointed. Arguably one of the reasons we're where we are in the league when all those small margins go against you."

Celtic interim manager Martin O'Neill: "We've won the game with a wonder strike from a very talented player.

"A lot of frustration too. We didn't create enough, we didn't take care of the ball well enough, but I'm relieved we've won.

"The minute he got himself a little angle on the edge of the box, I thought 'he's going to score here'.

"There's relief as much as anything else, but you enjoy winning football matches - that's what it's about. It keeps confidence alive as much as anything else and keeps momentum going."

Celtic are away to Feyenoord in the Europa League on Thursday (17:45 GMT) before going to Hibernian in the league on Sunday (12:00).

St Mirren continue their search for a league win at Dundee on Saturday (15:00).