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Paul Mullin labelled his Wrexham exile a 'strange situation' as he endured minimal playing time despite being fully fit. The 30-year-old will play no part in Wrexham's return to the second tier after 43 years away having been sent out on loan to League One side Wigan Athletic for the upcoming season. Mullin's move away comes after he made 32 appearances for the Welsh side last term, although only 12 of those were starts. It marked a sharp decline from the 38 starts he made in the 2023/24 campaign where Wrexham were promoted from League Two. Speaking exclusively on talk SPORT Breakfast, Mullin struggled to explain why his game time dropped so drastically under Wrexham boss Phil Parkinson. "It's obviously a strange situation, " Mullin said. "Last year was difficult for me. Wrexham's a place I love, they've changed my life and given me many happy times. " A key reason behind Mullin's struggles early in the season was returning to fitness from a long-standing back injury. He noted it had been an issue that plagued him since the day he arrived in north Wales but got it attended to ahead of the season. "You just need time to come back [from injury] and find yourself again, " Mullin said. "I wasn't allotted the time to do that. "Then from January onwards, I don't know why but the gaffer didn't want to use me. "Then going into the summer with us getting promoted again, the gaffer's decided to go elsewhere. " Mullin insists Wigan have nothing to worry about regarding his back issues, as he insisted his back is 'perfect' and 'probably the best it's been in years'. Although Wrexham evidently holds a special place in Mullin's heart, having scored 110 goals in 172 appearances for the club, the opportunity to play regular football was one he could not pass up. "It's only a short career and as much as I love Wrexham, I want to play football, " Mullin said. "I don't want to be sat at home every weekend. "People say it's the dream to be a footballer, but it's so difficult when you're training every day and at the end of the week, you don't get to do what you trained for. It's really tough. " 2021/22 (National League): 44 appearances, 32 goals 2022/23 (National League): 53 appearances 37 goals 2023/24 (League Two): 43 appearances, 26 goals 2024/25 (League One): 32 appearances, 5 goals Wigan will hope Mullin's goals can fire them back up to the Championship after three seasons in League One. The Latics were a Premier League club as recently as 2013, but have since alternated between the second and third tiers in the following years. As for Wrexham, they will temporarily lose the man who is seventh in the club's all-time goalscoring charts. Mullin's tally of 110 is only eight behind Graham Whittle, who is fifth in the list. However, he has some serious way to go if he is to break into the top three, with Arfon Griffiths sitting third with 143 goals for Wrexham to his name. © 2025 talk SPORT Limited

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