Magic Paul Mullin means more than goals to his Rotherham United boss
"When I found out he was only 31, I felt there was still a lot of football in him."
Alex Bruce has nine good reasons why he's delighted talisman Paul Mullin's aches and pains have eased this week and the striker is set to lead the Rotherham United line at Swindon Town this weekend.
Eight of them are the number of goals the centre-forward has bagged in just 13 League Two appearances since his summer move to AESSEAL New York Stadium following his legendary spell with Wrexham.
The ninth is something that often goes under the radar while the Scouser's scoring exploits attract all the headlines … just how hard he works for the team.
Mullin is skipper when Joe Rafferty isn't in the starting 11, and boss Bruce said: "He puts in the shift every game, and that's what you want from your captain, isn't it? You want him to lead by example, and he certainly does that.
"You can see his quality. The first goal last week where he lifted the ball over the goalkeeper was a hell of a finish. I'm sure he's in a good place and feeling confident."
The head coach was referring to the new boy's inch-perfect lob that formed part of a brace in the 3-3 home draw with Shrewsbury Town.
Mullin went the extra mile because his side had been left a player light by Kian Spence's red card and he had to be replaced after the hour mark when his 30-something legs began cramping up.
"Mulls was shattered because of all the running around he'd done, with us having 10 men for a large period of the game," Bruce said.
"He's come through this week. I gave the lads a little bit of time to recover from the game last Saturday - I gave them some time off to clear their heads and let them recover. Hopefully, we can see the fruits of that and they can be fresh and ready to go this Saturday.
Mullin was the club's marquee signing of the last transfer window and his boss described him as being "worth his weight in goal" to the Millers who landed him late in pre-season on a two-year deal after he'd mutually agreed his departure from Championship Wrexham.
The hitman broke lower-league scoring records with the Welsh side but wasn't in line for game time in the second tier, so player and club came to an arrangement on the final year of his deal at the Racecourse Ground.
"When you're in the free market, not many of Mulls' calibre become available," Bruce said. "If they do, there's probably a situation where they've not played much, their best years are behind them or they've had an injury.
"When I found out he was only 31, I felt there was still a lot of football in him, even though he'd not played over the last year or so. When we brought him in, it was just a case of getting him fit and getting him back to playing regularly.
"In recent weeks, he's got fitter, he's got stronger. He'll always score because of his talent and his eye in front of goal. He's been a real shining light, I have to say. As long as we've got him leading the line for us, we should be in a good place."