Notts County Football Club

Name: Hayden Mullins

DOB: 27 March 1979

Nationality: English

Position: Defender

Former Clubs: Notts County (Loan), Birmingham City, Reading (Loan), Portsmouth, West Ham, Crystal Palace

Career Appearances: 253 (+ 49 Sub Appearances)

Total Goals: 33

Hayden Mullins joined Crystal Palace as a trainee at the age of 16 in 1996 and after signing a professional contract two years later, he quickly established himself as a first team regular. 

In his first season, he not only featured in the Intertoto Cup, he made 40 league appearances and was named Player of the Year. 

Across five years at Selhurst Park, Mullins made 256 appearances and scored 20 goals as a central midfielder - his main role for the majority of his career. 

In his final full season with Palace, he was named captain and, again, claimed the Player of the Year accolade. 

In 2003, Mullins joined West Ham United for an initial £600,000 fee, which increased to £800,000 after the Hammers gained promotion to the Premier League via the Play-Offs in 2005.

In the top flight, he continued to impress and helped West Ham to achieve a mid-table finish and reach the FA Cup Final, which he missed out on through suspension. 

In 2006.07, Mullins completed his first career Great Escape, as he aided their remarkable fightback from almost certain relegation and continued as a regular until signing for Portsmouth in January 2009, having played 213 games for the Hammers.

With Pompey, he was able to play in an FA Cup Final, albeit in an unfamiliar left-back position, as they were beaten 1-0 by Chelsea. 

Mullins stayed with Portsmouth until March 2012 and made 129 appearances in the Premier League and Championship.

He was also awarded Pompey’s Player of the Year award following the 2010.11 campaign. 

Mullins’ next stop was Reading on loan, before he made the switch to Birmingham City, who had previously tried to recruit him during his Crystal Palace days. 

Across two campaigns, he appeared 37 times for Birmingham before linking up with the Magpies on loan, reuniting with Shaun Derry - his old Crystal Palace teammate. 

Mullins started off in central midfield and scored on his home debut - a header against Coventry City.

After a brief spell out of the side, Derry added him to the back four to offer experience alongside youngster Haydn Hollis.

It proved to be a master stroke as the duo combined magnificently to ensure that Notts tightened up at the back and allowed the team to experience a vital run of form, which ultimately led to The Great Escape. 

Unfortunately for County, Mullins’ performances did not go unnoticed by City and he was unavailable for the trip to Oldham Athletic, where a 1-1 draw preserved the club’s Sky Bet League 1 status. 

His Birmingham recall came at a vital time, as they fought against relegation from the Championship, but he continued his terrific form and helped them to complete their own Great Escape in the final two fixtures. 

Mullins departed St Andrews earlier this summer and Derry was able to bring him back to Meadow Lane on a one-year deal, with the hope that he can continue to produce the same levels of performances as his previous spell in the Black and White stripes. 

Send us your welcome back messages to Hayden on Twitter using the hashtag #welcomebackhayden.