Why Paul Mullin said 'no' to other teams but 'yes' to Rotherham United

Hot-shot Paul Mullin chose Rotherham United as his new home ahead of a number of other clubs who had been chasing his signature this summer.

The 31-year-old former is the most lethal lower-league striker of recent times so he was a man in demand when he parted company with Wrexham in June and became a free agent.

A move to the Millers suited the personal life of the Liverpool-based player and a then a visit to AESSEAL New York Stadium further persuaded him to sign a two-year contract in South Yorkshire.

"Yeah, I had quite a few options," he said. "What's most important to me before football is my family and my little boy. That's never going to change.

"Luckily, leaving Wrexham early enough allowed me time to be able to pick what was right for me. I think I've found that in Rotherham. It's feeling like it's going to be perfect, and it should fit brilliantly with the family.

"There were other clubs interested but they weren't for me. Location-wise, they weren't right for me and also I didn't get that feeling of excitement. When Rotherham came about and I got down to the ground, the excitement really built. I can't wait to get going."

Mullin will move into accommodation in Rotherham and the Millers will allow him to visit home as much as possible. "The gaffer (Alex Bruce) has been fantastic with me in terms of speaking about things like that," he said.

Because of last term's relegation, the Millers find themselves in League Two for the first time since the 2012/13 campaign and they have landed a centre-forward who has previously been a prolific scorer at fourth-tier level and has won three promotions from the division, with Tranmere Rovers, Cambridge United and then Wrexham.

His arrival has been met with a wave of approval from Rotherham fans who are eager to put three difficult seasons behind them.

However, Mullin isn't fully aware of the furore his presence has sparked.

"No, I'm not, to be honest," he said. "I try to get off social media as quickly as I can. Even if I post something on my X account, I'm off there as fast as I can be afterwards. I know what the world's like these days.

"It's lovely if I'm welcomed so much. I've felt it from within the club and the few fans I have spoken to. It feels nice. Now, it's about me repaying that excitement and making it continue throughout the season. I'll be working as hard as I can for them to hopefully make us successful."

The attacker who became a Wrexham legend for his exploits during a three-season spell in which he scored 102 goals, is relishing the responsibility of being a key man in a Rotherham revival following their slide from the Championship to the EFL's basement league.

"Yeah, absolutely," he said. "I think that's been me as a person throughout my life. The bigger the challenge, the more I rise to it. Through my career, the more pressure that's been on, the more I've been able to deliver."

Mullin revelled in being around his partner and son more than usual in pre-season but made sure he put in the hard yards so that his conditioning wouldn't unduly suffer during the month he was without a club.

"It's been lovely to enjoy a lot more time at home," he said. "When the other lads went back to pre-season for the first couple of weeks, it was the best thing ever to be with the little man when he finished school. Just being a round to take him and pick him up and things like that was fantastic. I just loved it.

"I've kept myself fit. That's my job. I'm a professional and you've got to keep yourself fit. You'd be an idiot not to, because your performances are going to reflect that. You've got to make sure that you're as fit as you can be without being involved in team training.

"Hopefully, from now on I can get back into team training and really enjoy it and get the match sharpness up as quickly as possible."