Hayden Mullins

Hayden Ian Mullins (born 27 March 1979) is an English former professional footballer and current manager.

He played primarily as a defensive midfielder, but he also played as a sweeper and at right-back.

He was most recently the head coach at club Colchester United.

Mullins began his career with First Division side Crystal Palace in 1996, and signed his first professional contract with the club in 1998.

He quickly established himself in the first team, and made 257 senior appearances for Palace in five seasons.

He joined Crystal Palace as a trainee in August 1996, and made his first-team debut in July 1998, at the age of 19, in the 1998 UEFA Intertoto Cup matches against Turkish club Samsunspor.

Head coach Terry Venables gave him his domestic debut in a 3–3 draw against Bolton Wanderers in August 1998, and he scored his first senior goal in a 3–1 away defeat to Birmingham City a week later.

He immediately established himself in the first team, made 45 league and cup appearances in the 1998–99 season, was named Player of The Year, and was capped for the England under-18 team.

Mullins later acknowledged his debt to Venables, saying, "I learnt a lot from him. He took a lot of time with us on the training pitch. He taught us a lot about shape and formation, he's very detailed in that respect. He's very good man on man, he made me feel totally comfortable he didn't pressure me into it at all."

Mullins made three appearances for the England under-21 squad in 1999.

Financial difficulties meant that Crystal Palace were unable to make new signings for the 1999–2000 season and relied on youngsters such as Mullins and Clinton Morrison and veterans such as Andy Linighan as they successfully battled against relegation from the First Division.

Mullins made 49 league and cup appearances in that season and a further 51 appearances in the 2000–01 season as Palace reached the semi-final of the League Cup, but narrowly escaped relegation.

He was transfer listed in October 2000, due to what manager Alan Smith described as a "bad attitude", but was taken off the list and was offered and signed a new four-year contract two months later as his relationship with Smith improved.

Smith said of him in January 2001, "He's a really good footballer which means I can play him in any position. I like my young players to play in different positions. This season he's played full-back, midfield and sweeper. [We've] got to work on his defending, but he's got pace, he has good vision and he wants to play football."

Mullins made a total of 47 appearances in league and cup in the 2001–02 season as Palace made an ultimately unsuccessful push for the First Division play-off places.

He was made captain in the 2002–03 season by manager Trevor Francis, who saw him as an integral part of the squad.

He made 52 league and cup appearances as Palace advanced to the quarter-final of the League Cup, as well as recording a memorable 2–0 win over Liverpool in an FA Cup fourth round replay at Anfield.

In October 2003, he switched to First Division side West Ham United, initially on a short-term loan, which quickly turned into a permanent transfer.

He was named Player of The Year for a second time in 2003.

An offer of £600,000 from Birmingham City in January 2003 was rejected as "derisory".

With one year remaining on his existing contract, Mullins turned down the offer of a new contract in May.

His agent said, "It is no secret that Hayden believes he will not be able to fulfil his true potential at Palace. If the club wishes to get some financial reward for their role in his up bringing, then they need to sell him this summer."

The following October, he joined West Ham United.

Mullins made over 250 league and cup appearances for Palace, scoring 20 goals.

Mullins was the first signing for West Ham's newly appointed manager, Alan Pardew, and initially joined on a short-term loan to enable him to play against Nottingham Forest on the same day.

The deal was made permanent a day later for a fee of £600,000, rising to £800,000 should West Ham be promoted.

Pardew said of him, "...I have captured a player that I feel is going to add significantly to us. [He] can play in various positions and give us cover in a number of those [...] I think ultimately he is a central midfield player for us and I think his energy will be important; he will have to battle in the midfield. He is someone we are going to look to when we are up against it, to win the battle and give the room to [other players] to play. He is very much a destroyer and I think we are desperate for one of those."

Mullins made 34 league and cup appearances in his first season for West Ham, helping them to the First Division play-off final in May 2004, where they were beaten by a single goal to nil by Mullins' former club Crystal Palace.

The following season, Mullins made 45 league and cup appearances as West Ham again reached the play-off final, this time beating Preston North End 1–0 to win promotion to the Premier League.

West Ham exceeded expectations in the 2005–06 season, finishing in a mid-table position and reaching the FA Cup final, which was won by Liverpool 3–1 on penalties.

Mullins, having made 42 appearances in that season, was suspended for the final along with Liverpool's Luis García, after the pair had been sent off in a league fixture a few weeks earlier and an appeal against his dismissal was rejected by the Football Association.

Pardew said, "I feel very aggrieved and very upset because Hayden has had a fantastic season. He has been one of our best players. He was my first signing here, I'm very proud of him, of what he has done and achieved."

At the beginning of the 2006–07 season, West Ham completed the signing of Argentine international Javier Mascherano who, like Mullins, was a defensive midfielder.

However, after a brief period on the bench, Mullins re-established himself in the first team and scored the winning goal, in a 2–1 home win over Blackburn Rovers in October 2006, which put an end to the worst run of results for West Ham in 74 years.

He remained at the club for five-and-a-half years, making 213 appearances, before joining Premier League side Portsmouth in January 2009.

At the end of the 2011–12 season, Mullins left Portsmouth, and joined Birmingham City on a free transfer.

He made 129 appearances for Portsmouth, but the club's financial difficulties meant that he joined Championship side Reading on loan in March 2012.

After two years, during which he also spent time on loan at Notts County, Birmingham confirmed he would be released when his contract expired at the end of the 2013–14 season.

After retiring, he became under-23 manager of Watford in 2016, and was twice their interim manager.

Mullins was born in Reading, Berkshire.