Ricki Lamie says the early signs show Conor Wilkinson can be a hit for Motherwell – as he warned his new team-mate to warm-up his singing voice for his initiation on the long trip to Elgin City this weekend.
The 6ft 3’ striker penned a two-year deal at Fir Park last week as the Steelmen went some way to replacing talisman Kevin van Veen, who joined Dutch side FC Groningen for an undisclosed fee after netting 29 goals in claret and amber last season.
Motherwell fans will hope to get their first glimpse of the Englishman in competitive action on Saturday when Stuart Kettlewell’s side make the 380-mile, eight-hour round-trip to Borough Briggs for their Viaplay League Cup opener.
And defender Lamie, who has been impressed with the former Walsall and Bolton frontman so far, says the long journey will give them plenty of time to get to know their new team-mate.
He said: “It’s still early doors for his initiation but we’ve got a couple of long away trips coming up in this League Cup section, so there will be plenty of opportunities for him to find his singing voice.
“We’re going to opposite ends of the countries for those first two games, Elgin then Queen of the South [on Tuesday], so there will be plenty of time.
“He’s obviously got big boots to fill at the top end of the pitch so, hopefully, he’s got some goals in him as well.
“The big man has trained well. He’s got a bit of experience, good physical attributes as well, and you can see he’s got a bit of quality already, only having seen him in a couple of sessions.
“I know the club worked hard to bring him here and did their due diligence, so I think the big man will be a good addition.”
Lamie is no stranger to the lower leagues, having worked his way up to the Premiership via stints at Airdrie, Clyde, Queen’s Park and Morton, so he is taking nothing for granted in the two tricky trips facing Motherwell.
He added: “I can speak from personal experience having played at these places. They are never easy games so I won’t be expecting anything different now.
“The gaffer has been emphasising that we need to be ready for these League Cup games. There won’t be any easy games, especially going up there away from home to kick-off the season.
”Hopefully everybody will be firing and raring to go.”
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