Mullin absence 'seems a little crazy' - Phillips

Waynne Phillips says it "seems a little crazy" that Paul Mullin cannot make Wrexham's bench as the Dragons look to maintain their push for automatic promotion to the Championship.

Mullin was a star of Wrexham's rise from the National League to the third tier, scoring 72 goals across two campaigns as Phil Parkinson's men claimed successive promotions.

But the 30-year-old striker has had far less impact in League One, scoring only three third-tier goals so far this term.

Mullin was once again missing from Parkinson's 18-man squad as Wrexham were beaten at home by Leyton Orient on Tuesday.

The former Cambridge player has not featured since Wrexham signed fellow forwards Jay Rodriguez and Sam Smith at the back end of the mid-season transfer window.

Rodriguez and Smith started against Orient, with Steven Fletcher and Jack Marriott coming off the bench as Mullin missed out along with the likes of Ollie Palmer and Mo Faal.

"For me there's something not right - to not have Paul Mullin in and around the squad seems a little bit crazy," former Wrexham midfielder Phillips told BBC Radio Wales.

"But Phil Parkinson is the manager. He has done particularly well for Wrexham over the last two or three seasons and you have to accept that he is the man who picks the side."

Phillips felt Parkinson's men could have no complaints after the Orient loss, Wrexham's second in succession on their own patch.

While Wrexham have progressed in the EFL trophy – and won League One games at Crawley and Northampton this month – they go to Mansfield Town on Sunday having lost four of their past eight third-tier games.

The dip in form means Wrexham, in third, are five points adrift of second-placed Wycombe Wanderers in the table with 15 league games to play.

"There have been a couple of wins which have taken them into the semi-final of the EFL Trophy, but automatic promotion is what they are after and they cannot afford to have this bad run at this stage in the season," Phillips added.

"The last thing Wrexham want going into the last 10 games is to be under big pressure. There are 15 games to go, a lot of points to play for, but they need to pull themselves out of the form they are in at the moment."