For Wrexham, Paul Mullin is more than just a “fox in the box,” as former teammate Jake Hyde explains, going above and beyond what is expected of the prolific frontman.
AHEAD OF TIME?
The 28-year-old forward, who joined the Dragons in 2021 after leaving Cambridge United, has been an incredible discovery. At the time, Mullin was the League Two Golden Boot winner, but he decamped to the National League to be a part of the big picture that Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney were assembling.
Mullin has made 105 appearances for Wrexham and has scored 82 goals, 47 of which came during the team’s 2022–2023 promotion campaign. Although Hyde, who signed with Wrexham from FC Halifax Town just a few days prior, and he were signed within the same window, the Merseyside native has had the most influence in North Wales at this thrilling time for the team.
Hyde, who views Mullin as the ideal striker, has admitted to having to contend with him on the RobRyanRed Podcast: Mulls arrived three days after I signed for a charge. Don’t misunderstand; Mulls was unquestionably coming in as the main player and the talisman after what he performed the previous season. However, you possess self-assurance, a certain swagger, and convictions of your own. I have never entered a football team, regardless of the kind, and said to myself, “You know what, I might not be the leading goalscorer this season.” I think that’s who I will become. For me, though, it went beyond that; it was about being on the side that was making progress.
“Parky made it very clear that he wanted to play with the front two; he needed two goal scorers, and we each had a separate position on the team. It was more of an attempt to establish a friendship than a threat. Sincerely, I was taken aback by Mulls’ skill as a player when we played together. I knew he was a goal scorer, but in the lower levels, most players are absolute goal scorers, or “foxes in the box,” meaning that’s all they do. They may not be very creative or hardworking, but their main purpose is to score goals.
Mulls had to do other things, like create opportunities and drop short, and I felt, ‘This guy is a proper player.’ I thought this because he might not have started the season as the player he is now. He continued to demonstrate his skill in front of goal after that. I seem to have thought, “I’m going to like playing with this lad because he’s got that creative side,” when he first entered. He exceeded my expectations in quality.”
Due to injury issues, Hyde was unable to have the desired impact at Wrexham and left the team to go on loan to Southend United for the previous season then to Yeovil Town for a permanent contract before the current campaign began. Mullin, on the other hand, is still going strong for the Dragons following his recovery from a lung puncture sustained during the summer.
