Josh Mullin insists family reasons are behind his surprise departure from Ross County.
The Staggies announced his departure on Friday as they heralded the signing of Jermaine Hylton. Mullin went back to Livingston yesterday on a deal until the end of the season.
Mullin scored 16 goals in 78 games for County since joining from Livi in 2018. He scored in the Challenge Cup final win over Connah’s Quay Nomads last year and was player of the season in their Championship title-winning campaign of 2018-19.
However, he started only one of County’s seven Premiership games this season – a 2-2 draw with Kilmarnock – and was left out of match-day squads against Celtic and Aberdeen. The 28-year-old had said visiting family during lockdown had told him he needed to make a switch closer to home.
Mullin said: “I had a great two years of my career up there. Maybe the start of the season didn’t go the way I’d hoped and planned and then I was looking to get down the road closer to family, with all the lockdown stuff happening.
“I had a couple of conversations with the manager and he made it clear he wanted to keep me. I have a really good relationship with him and still do.
“I spoke to him the other day when I went to sign my forms. He’s been excellent with me but it was down to my decision. It was nothing to do with the club. They made it clear they wanted to keep me but my mind was made up.
THANK YOU @RossCounty appreciate all the messages 💙💙⚽️. pic.twitter.com/UJQezsb7oP
— JoshuaMullin (@Joshuamullin7) October 2, 2020
“With the lockdown stuff and not seeing them and now I have been coming back down, it was good to see my family. I wasn’t playing maybe as much as I would have liked, so it was just a mixture of a few things and I felt it was time to move on.”
Mullin pinpoints the success of two seasons ago as one of the best memories of his career in Dingwall.
The Staggies, then under the dual stewardship of Stuart Kettlewell and Steven Ferguson, held off the challenge of Dundee United to secure an immediate return to the top flight.
Mullin added: “I can’t fault the club, the chairman, Ketts or Fergie – they go above and beyond for you. Even the kitwoman, she was crying the other day when I was leaving. That’s how much of a relationship I had with people up there.”