Tony Watt and Alan Burrows verbals turned to hugs but Dundee United star says 'I'm not here to tickle his manly parts'

Tony Watt feared a verbal spat with Motherwell chief Alan Burrows would escalate into a wrestling match - but instead they ended up cuddling.

The striker came back to haunt the Steelmen on Wednesday night as he scored what was his first goal for Dundee United against his former club at Tannadice.

The Scotland international controversially signed a pre-contract with the Tangerines in December but made an early move from Lanarkshire to the City of Discovery last month after the clubs agreed a six-figure fee.

Not surprisingly, the former Fir Park favourite was the top target for the travelling support boo boys when the two sides met in midweek.

United took the lead in the first half through Dylan Levitt and when Watt netted after the interval to seal the win, he ran towards the Motherwell fans with his fingers firmly fixed in his ears.

That reaction did not go down well with Burrows who later traded verbal volleys with Watt.

However, the pair soon made up and while Watt insists he is not here to tickle Burrows’ “manly parts” he admits he owes him an enormous debt of gratitude for what he did for him at Motherwell.

The 28-year-old former Celtic front man said: “Me and Alan Burrows cleared it up straight away.

“He’s heated, I’m heated and we were having a little bit of handbags, shall we say?

“Alan is a fantastic professional and he is Motherwell until he dies. If I’m celebrating in front of their fans then he takes that as a fan.

“He has taken it to heart because of what they have done for me.

“I can’t stress enough what Motherwell have done or what he personally has done.

“He is the guy who brought me to the club and the one who gave me the trial. He’s the one who pushed to sign me.

“And he is the guy who fought my