PHIL PARKINSON felt Paul Mullin was on a "different level" after scoring a first half hat-trick in Wrexham's brilliant 4-0 victory over Accrington Stanley at The Racecourse on Saturday.

Star striker Mullin, who missed the start of the League Two campaign after suffering a collapsed lung and four broken ribs during the pre-season tour of America, took his tally for the season to 16 goals in the emphatic victory over Accrington.

He went eight games without finding the back of the net until he scored a last-gasp equaliser from the penalty spot to secure a 1-1 draw at Forest Green Rovers last Tuesday, and Parkinson says that gave Mullin a lift going into the clash with Accrington.

"Mulls was brilliant," said Parkinson, who saw Wrexham move up to third in the table, three points behind leaders Mansfield but on the same tally as second placed Stockport County and two ahead of Crewe Alexandra in fourth.

"He was back to his sharpest. You could see he was lifted from the performance on Tuesday and the penalty, he took it into today's performance and scored three really good goals."

Mullin, who has scored 95 goals since joining Wrexham from Cambridge United in the summer of 2021, has been struggling with a hamstring problem so Parkinson is pleased to finally have a free midweek following a busy schedule in February to allow the 29-year-old to deal with the issue.

"He has also been playing with a problem with his hamstring," added Parkinson.

"He is going to have an injection this week in his back.

"But he never moans about it, he carries on and never misses training with it, but it is something we have had to wait for this free week to get resolved.

"What Mulls has done here in terms of his goal ratio is extraordinary; there is going to be a period where it doesn't go his way and we have been able to rest him a few games to keep him fresh, and today he was on a different level at times."