'Not really supporting the team' - Martin O'Neill has words for Celtic support as St Mirren fume over decision

Martin O’Neill admitted Callum McGregor’s last-gasp strike got Celtic out of jail at St Mirren as he called for unity between the club and its supporters.

The visitors looked set to drop points following a poor performance only for McGregor to break the deadlock with a thunderous effort in the fifth minute of time added on.

The victory helped keep up the pressure on league leaders Hearts who play Aberdeen on Sunday but O’Neill admitted it had been scarcely deserved given how poorly Celtic had played for much of the contest.

Celtic interim manager Martin O'Neill during the match at St Mirren. (Photo by Craig Williamson / SNS Group) | SNS Group

He said: “It was massive. Absolutely massive. It was a great goal from a great player. The game was obviously heading for a draw.

“I'm not so sure that we deserved any more than that. But Callum scored a fabulous goal. Strangely enough, I thought he moved it out of his feet just at the edge of the box and thought he could hit this. So it was a great goal. Maybe it didn't belong with the game, but it was just great to win.

“To win in that manner just at the end of the game was great, but I don't think it was what St Mirren deserved. We never dealt properly with the ball. When we were in decent possession, we gave it away cheaply.

“I thought we improved a bit in the second half. We got a bit more momentum going in the second half, but still, we were just cheap at giving the ball away.

“Naturally, I'm delighted we won because if we had played really, really well and got beaten tonight, then it's just a host of frustrations. We've just got to be better.”

A day after the club’s bad-tempered fractious AGM, the travelling support again barracked the board throughout the 90 minutes.

O’Neill, who says he’s unsure if he will still be in charge for the midweek Europa League match away to Feyenoord, felt the ongoing discord was not helping matters and hoped a mediatory could be found to help re-establish peace.

Celtic fans hold up a banner which reads "Baillieston against the board" during the match against St Mirren. (Photo by Craig Williamson / SNS Group) | SNS Group

He added: “I probably don't think (it affects things). But I'm not sure when it was a continuation of not really supporting the team tonight.

“It was “sack the board” the whole way through. I think there's perhaps just an element that... Daizen Maeda probably wouldn't know what “sack the board” is. But I don't think it'll help.

“They paid their money, they came here tonight. And obviously the scenes at the end were terrific in that sense. We just need some sort of unification again. I know I made the point about Jock Stein. He built the football club on unification. Fans and players and team and everybody else going in the same way.”

St Mirren manager Stephen Robinson was furious with the decision to rule out a Liam Scales own goal, given for Conor McMenamin being in an offside position.

He added: “The fine margins of football have gone against us again. We’ve a goal disallowed and they’ll probably make up some reason again to justify it again.

“Conor is not in line with the goalkeeper and Scales doesn’t see him. So that has to be a subjective decision for the referee to make. And he’s not even called over (to the VAR screen).

“That’s hard to take as it’s four goals in four games now disallowed.”