AS a man who has played for 13 different clubs during his career by the age of 28, Conor Wilkinson has just about seen it all when it comes to the dreaded initiation ritual. In fact, his refusal to sing in front of his new teammates once saw a loan move terminated after just a single appearance.
As a youngster, a bashful Wilkinson decided that he would rather not embarrass himself by belting out a few bars on the Portsmouth team bus having recently made the move from Bolton Wanderers, but madcap manager Paul Cook was having none of it.
Instead of a forfeit or a fine, Wilkinson was sent packing back up north, so he was grateful when he arrived at Motherwell in the summer that Stuart Kettlewell and his players were a little more lenient when he was offered the mike on a long bus trip to Elgin.
“The boys gave me the option if I wanted to buy out,” Wilkinson said.
“It wasn't cheap, but I thought the money would be better off in the kitty for the Christmas party! The lads all agreed, though I was more than happy to sing.
“The Portsmouth situation was a little bit different. I went down 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 just didn’t make me feel a part of things.
“I didn't want to go up and make a fool of myself in front of them. I was only 19 at the time and none of the senior players there said a word to me. I would go into training, train and go back to the hotel.
“I did learn from the experience and that in the future I would need to choose my loans more wisely.
“It was a bizarre experience and the manager pulled me and asked me what happened. I told him I refused to sing and the whole experience was really awkward.
“I have probably done about ten initiations in my time as I have been at a few clubs.
“The first one I did at Millwall when I was 16. I was singing Dreams by Gabrielle when the keeper David Ford launched an apple against the back of my head.”
Ah, the quirks of the dressing room. Wilkinson is hoping it will be a while before he has to be faced with such a scenario again, having now settled into life at Motherwell.
His first few months at the club have been a little stop-start since making the move from Walsall in the summer, with injury hampering his attempts at making a good first impression on the Fir Park faithful for his skills as a striker, rather than a singer.
But having used the international break to top up his fitness and his sharpness, he is determined to show that he can be part of the solution for Motherwell to their much publicised problems at the sharp end of the pitch since the departure of Kevin van Veen.
“From day one here all the lads have been fantastic,” he said.
“I was in a hotel for two months, but they went out of their way to make me feel welcome and included in everything.
“I just want to pay them back with goals and performances and try to get some success this season.
“I’m raring to go again. I played 75 minutes in a reserve game against Rangers last week and came out of it feeling good.
“It has been a bit stop-start with injury and not the start I planned. I have two goals, but ideally, I was hoping for a few more.
“The injury came at a bad time. I felt I was just getting into the groove and getting match sharpness.
“Mika (Biereth) came in and was fantastic and then he got injured. We wish him well and can't wait to have him back.
“Jon (Obika) is getting back to fitness at the moment after a freak accident. It has been about myself and Theo (Bair) trying to hold the fort.
“We feel we have not delivered yet as the back five have been terrific, and the midfield have been unbelievable.
“It is now up to the strikers to put the ball in the back of the net.
“That is our job and that is what we are paid to do.”
He is hoping that they can do just that in the coming weeks, with the Steelmen looking to arrest a run of four straight defeats after a promising start to the campaign.
For Wilkinson, there is no need to panic despite the disappointing loss to Livingston last time out, feeling that it is only a matter of time before Motherwell get back on track.
“When I came up, I didn't know much about the league and the players,” he said.
“But, after training with the boys for a few days I thought we have a really good chance this season.
“I still believe it now even though we are on the back of a few bad results.
“I think we have been unlucky against both Rangers and Celtic."
