Celtic manager Ronny Deila heaped praise on supersub Tom Rogic after the Australian midfielder's goal sealed a late 1-0 win over Kilmarnock that puts the Hoops firmly in control of the Scottish Premiership title race.

The Glasgow giants had been heading for a goalless draw at Rugby Park that would have seen them hold a slender two point lead over nearest challengers Aberdeen.

However, Rogic's last-minute rocket, allied to the Dons' 2-1 loss to Motherwell, means Deila's side are now four clear with a game in hand.

It was Rogic's eighth goal of the season and his manager hailed the impact the Socceroos star made after replacing Nir Bitton in the 80th minute.

"Tom came up with a cracker," Celtic boss Deila said. "He did it a few times in training during the week so I wasn't surprised.

"He was really good in training all week and we were always thinking he could come on and make a difference. It was quite a feeling when the goal went in."

The win eases the pressure that had been building on Deila following recent poor league form and a disappointing League Cup exit to Ross County.

It wasn't the display of fight and drive that the manager had demanded prior to the game but Deila was delighted just to get the win.

"No I didn't get that," Deila said. "We were more passive and we didn't get up a tempo in the passing.

"It seemed like we were struggling a lot on the surface and that shouldn't be an excuse so that's something we have to work on. We didn't play well at all but sometimes that's the best way to win.

"We fought hard and the fans were unbelievable today and we gave them something to cheer about in the end."

The match saw the return of the "Ronny roar" as they manager celebrated vigorously with the Celtic fans.

The celebration had disappeared in recent weeks with the manager coming in for criticism from the supporters.

However, Deila insists he isn't hurt by personal criticism.

"The fans are behind Celtic. It doesn't matter about me, it's about Celtic," he said.

"You can see the passion and I just love the fans here. It's unbelievable how much they care about their club."

Kilmarnock boss Lee Clark said the last-gasp defeat had been hard to take.

"I've experienced some defeats in my career as a player, coach and manager but I think that's the hardest I've ever had to take because the only team that deserved to win the game was us without a shadow of a doubt," Clark said.

"We certainly didn't deserve to lose it. We've lost to a wonder goal but I'm just absolutely devastated to have lost the game like that."

Defeat leaves Kilmarnock in the relegation play-off place, five points from safety and eight points clear of bottom side Dundee United, but having played two games more.

However, Clark is confident that his side will avoid the drop.

"We're staying up; no problem," Clark said. "We've got no doubts about that.

"With what we've got and what they've given me over a really tough run of games we will stay in the league and we'll go onto bigger and better things when we do that."