Wrexham boss Phil Parkinson sends out strong message to three-goal striker Paul Mullin amid 'massive expectations' at Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney's side

Prolific No.10 Mullin has been a talismanic presence at SToK Racecourse across his three full seasons in North Wales. He raced to 100 goals for the club, helping them to back-to-back promotions and himself to a hat-trick of awards in the Player of the Season department.

Summer injuries have become an unfortunate theme, with a punctured lung in 2023 followed by minor spinal surgery ahead of the current campaign. Mullin has been left playing catch-up on the fitness front as a result and has just three goals to his name across all competitions this term – with only one of those efforts coming in League One, back on October 19.

Mullin was benched again for Wrexham’s 1-0 defeat at Stockport last time out, but Parkinson has told the Men In Blazers podcast of bringing the best out of a proven marksman: “I had a good chat with Paul. I said that we need to make sure that we're not putting massive expectations on him. He's had a serious operation in the summer, missing not just the pre-season, but the whole of the off-season as well.

”He was a long way behind the other lads, but I put him back on the bench quickly. That doesn't mean he was really match ready. He's getting opportunities, and Paul is great. He doesn't let things affect him when he doesn't take those as he knows there's another chance coming round the corner. The life of a goal scorer is such that at times it doesn't go your way, but it's making sure those dips don't last too long, and he'll come through that.”

Mullin has gone six games without finding the target, while talk of Wrexham dipping back into the transfer market for more firepower continues to build. Further competition could arrive in January, but the Red Dragons remain confident that a favourite of Hollywood co-owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney will come good.