Conor Wilkinson swerves Motherwell initiation but he's happy to pay the price this time

Conor Wilkinson was infamously forced out at Portsmouth for failing to sing an initiation song.

So he’s glad to be welcomed at Motherwell – despite ducking the ritual again. Wilkinson forked out a fee to captain Liam Kelly and avoided having to deliver a tune in front of his new team-mates. But the cost was far greater on loan at Pompey a few years ago. Paul Cook punted him back to Bolton after one sub appearance on the south coast.

Wilkinson couldn’t stomach singing for such a surly squad but he’s much happier with his Fir Park friends after a deal donating to their Christmas night out. He said: “The boys gave me the option if I wanted to buy out. It wasn’t cheap! I thought the money would be better off in the kitty for the Christmas party. The lads all agreed, even though I was more than happy to sing.

“The Portsmouth situation was a little bit different. I went there on loan for the play-offs but nobody made me feel welcome and nobody spoke to me. Maybe it was a bit of an ego thing, as a young lad coming from a bigger club. But they didn’t make me feel part of things.

“I was only 21 and none of the senior players said a word to me. I would just train and go back to the hotel. So I didn’t want to go up and make a fool of myself in front of them. The manager asked what happened. I told him I refused to sing and the whole experience was really awkward and bizarre.

“I did learn from the experience. That in the future, I would choose my loans more wisely. I’ve probably done about 10 initiations, as I’ve been at a few clubs. The first was Millwall, I was 16. I sang ‘Dreams’ by Gabrielle when the keeper David Forde launched an apple at the back of my head.”

There’s been no rotten fruit pelted at Wilkinson, now 28, since