Wrexham travel to play-off chasers Morecambe on Saturday afternoon and there is one Wrexham player in particular who the hosts will be fearful of.
Last weekend, Wrexham got their League Two title charge firmly back on track by thrashing Accrington Stanley 4-0 at the STōK Cae Ras.
A first-half hat-trick from Paul Mullin and a fine finish from Elliot Lee sent out a convincing statement to the rest of the division.
Mullin’s second hat-trick of the campaign, scoring his first in the reverse fixture against Morecambe, took his tally to 16 goals for the season.
The 29-year-old had recently recovered from an eight-game goal drought, the longest he’d gone without scoring in a Wrexham shirt, but Phil Parkinson felt his last-minute penalty against Forest Green Rovers would get him up and running again, and it has.
The Liverpool-born forward is oozing with confidence once more and a fixture against Morecambe can see him continue his fine run of form.
Why Morecambe will be petrified of Paul Mullin
Mullin is one of the deadliest strikers in League Two and when he’s on song, he’s pretty much unstoppable in front of goal.
Morecambe have found this out the hard way in recent years. During his time at Cambridge United, the goal-machine netted five times in two matches against the Shrimps, including a hat-trick in a 5-0 victory in the 2020/21 campaign.
That year, Mullin helped the U’s seal promotion out of the fourth tier with 32 goals in 46 matches and now, he’s looking to do the same with the Reds.
Following his hat trick earlier in the season, the lethal striker has now scored eight goals in three appearances against Morecambe.
Understandably, they’ll be fearful of coming up against the striker, especially after watching him decimate Accrington last time out.
Parkinson has to start Mullin and Ollie Palmer once more
Mullin was back to his best last weekend and it’s no coincidence that he scored a hat-trick after Ollie Palmer was named in the starting XI alongside him.
The deadly duo scored 56 goals between them in the National League last term and rekindling that partnership proved pivotal against Stanley.
Palmer’s work off the ball and ability to drag defenders out of position, opened up space for Mullin to thrive and the visitors couldn’t live with his deadly finishing.
The 32-year-old was making his first start since November in that fixture and it’s incredible how long it’s taken Parkinson to throw him into the side given he’s only lost six matches out of 80 that he’s started.
With that said, the Reds boss must continue with Mullin and Palmer up front against Morecambe.