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 corner every week.
“I maybe told him ‘to do one’ and he maybe told me ‘to do one’ and we were nearly wrestling but I don’t have any bad feelings towards that guy.
“He reinvigorated my career. More than anyone else at the club, he’s responsible for helping me get to where I am.”
Watt added: “It was nothing but handbags and it was actually quite funny.
“I’m not here to tickle his manly parts but I am really happy with what Alan Burrows did for me.
“We ended up cuddling outside the dressing room. We were telling each other to ‘f-off’ and ‘do one’ after the goal but that’s men.”
Burrows admitted on social media he let himself down, saying: “Tony and I have always got on very well. I let myself down a wee bit and should’ve acted better than I did, but was a bit (over) emotional about some things.”
While the Motherwell fans have not forgiven Watt for moving to Tayside, the United fans have already taken him to heart and sang his praises throughout the game on Wednesday.
And Watt, who was named Man of the Match, admits that support from the Tangerines faithful means a lot to him.
He added: “I wouldn’t have celebrated if I didn’t hear the abuse from the fans. That’s part and parcel of the game - sometimes you become the villain.
“But this reception from the Dundee United fans made it all worthwhile.
“It made me realise why I moved. I had to be selfish. The club got a good fee, Dundee United got a good player and I got a good environment. It all worked out perfectly.”
Watt admitted he was “buzzing” to open his account for United - his 11th goal this season - but he insists he still isn’t dreaming of an international recall for the World Cup play-offs next month.
He said: “Every time I score a goal, I get asked about a Scotland call-up.
"It’s too early for that.
“Scotland are doing brilliantly. Che Adams is probably one of the best strikers Scotland has had.
“Lyndon Dykes is flying and Kevin Nisbet is a great player.
“I want to play as high as possible but there is no shame in not getting picked.”
