Wrexham AFC are delighted to confirm the appointment of Republic of Ireland physio Kevin Mulholland as the Club’s new Head of Performance Medicine and Sports Science.
Mulholland is Head Physio with the Irish national team and previously worked for Southampton in the Premier League.
He now fills the vacant physio role at the Racecourse Ground.
Mulholland will lead the medical team at Wrexham, while youth team physio Gemma Bamford has stepped up to become First Team Rehabilitation Therapist.
Mulholland will continue with his international role in tandem with working at the Racecourse Ground.
And on his arrival in North Wales, Mulholland said: “All the staff, players and fans I’ve met so far have been brilliant.
“It’s been well documented that it’s an exciting time for the Club with the investment, the players and the manager coming in and hopefully we can look forward to a good season where we’re pushing for promotion to the EFL.
“I got a phone call from Les Reed, who I worked with at Southampton in the role of Lead Performance Physio, asking if I’d be interested in the position of setting up and leading a medical and sports science department.
“Obviously it’s a big change going from the Premier League to the National League, but Les was able to sell the vision of the Club. The fact that we will be backed well both on and off the pitch by the home fans and a passionate hard-working community helped.
“The potential to form and lead a medical and sports science team of my own was very exciting and the opportunity to help the club put in place a Premier League standard medical team that will help support the players was a big selling point.
“There is already a good structure in place. The facilities are pretty decent and there is good staff in place so we have the strong foundations there and we can definitely build on those in terms of staff, training and upgrading facilities.”
Mulholland has been getting to know the staff and players at the Racecourse Ground this week, and will travel with the team down to Eastleigh at the weekend.
He will then link up with the Irish national team for the international break, but insists the dual role – providing it is well managed – will not cause any issues.
“I’ve worked with Ireland now for ten years, and it’s something I’ve always been honoured to do, so to lead on the medical staff alongside a colleague is great.
“It was a little different in the Premier League, because of the international break, so the majority of the players were away, so it’s just making sure that when I go away there’s a good, clear communication path and we have the correct staff in place, which we have.”
And on his week at Wrexham so far, Mulholland added: “It’s already been a busy time – it always is when you come into a new department – but we’ve hit the ground pretty fast and the players seem to be buying into the changes we are making.
“I think the players can see that what we are doing will help them in the long term, so hopefully now we can kick on and the players will reap the benefits of their hard work as we get further into the season.”
Manager Phil Parkinson said of Mulholland’s arrival: “I’m delighted to welcome Kevin to the Club. It took a while to sort the physio role out, but we needed to make sure we got it right and have now made an excellent addition to our backroom team.
“Kevin’s been in for a few days already, and we have all really enjoyed working with him and we’re looking forward to working together.”