JIMMY Mullen was appointed Team Manager at Walsall Football Club in May 2008.

During a near 20-year playing career, Mullen represented Sheffield Wednesday, Rotherham United and Cardiff City, captaining all three clubs to promotion during his time at each respective club.

His first taste of coaching experience came in 1983/84 when he was appointed player/assistant-manager at Cardiff City.

After graduating from the Professional Footballers Association Management Course in 1985, Mullen enjoyed a brief spell as manager of then Football League outfit, Newport County before joining Ian Porterfield's Aberdeen in 1987. During his time at Pittodrie, The Dons reached the Skol Cup Final, Scottish FA Cup semi-final and qualified for the UEFA Cup on two separate occasions.

In 1988, Mullen moved back down south where he linked up with Sam Ellis as Assistant Manager at Blackpool. A year later, he was given the manager's position at Bloomfield Road and helped The Seasiders reach the Northern Area Final of Sherpa Van Trophy.

By July 1990, Mullen was on the move and was appointed Assistant Manager at Burnley. During his time working alongside Frank Casper, The Clarets reached the Division Four play-offs before Mullen was given the manager's position in 1991.

During six highly successful years at Turf Moor, Mullen achieved two promotions, reached the Final of the Autoglass Trophy, was named Finalist in the Barclays Bank League Manager of the Year and twice received honours from the Northern Sportswriters Association.

Mullen left Burnley in 1996 and, after obtaining his UEFA 'A' Licence, joined Sligo Rovers. In his sole season in charge of the Football Association of Ireland Premier League club, Mullen took Sligo to the FAI Cup Final. A year later, Mullen joined the Football Association of Wales as a Staff Coach and combined that role with a Director of Coaching position at Telford United.

Mullen continued to work with the FAW for the next seven years and, between 1997 and 2003, gained experience working with a range of age levels from under-16's to under-19's.

Mullen took the young Welsh charges to a number of UEFA competitions and after being invited to undertake his UEFA Pro License in 1999, was granted that licence - the highest in professional football - in 2001.

From 2003 to 2007, Mullen undertook a number of consultancy roles before linking up at the Banks's Stadium as Assistant Manager.

After playing his part in a successful first campaign back at League One level, he was given the managerial reigns on Thursday, May 22nd 2008.

Mullen's career in full can be seen below:

AS MANAGER - Newport County, Cardiff City (joint mgr.), Blackpool, Burnley, Sligo Rovers, Telford Utd.

AS ASSISTANT MANAGER / COACH - Cardiff City, Aberdeen, Blackpool, Burnley.

AS PLAYER - Sheffield Wednesday, Rotherham United, Preston NE (loan), Cardiff City, Newport County.

HONOURS

AS MANAGER - Fourth Division Championship. Promotion to Division One via the play-offs.

AS PLAYER - Captained Sheffield Wednesday, Rotherham United, Cardiff City to promotion

FOOTBALL CAREER SUMMARY

July 1969 - Signed Apprenticeship with Sheffield Wednesday FC.

June 1976 - Appointed Club Captain at Sheffield Wednesday FC.

May 1978 - SWFC Supporters Player of the Year: Runner-up.

May 1980 - Captained SWFC to promotion from The Football League Division Three.

July 1980 - Transferred to Rotherham United. Appointed Team Captain.

May 1981 - Captained RUFC to The Football League Division Three Championship. Player of the Year.

June 1982 - Transferred to Cardiff City FC. Appointed Team Captain.

April 1983 - Welsh Cup Final.

June 1983 - Appointed Player-Coach at Cardiff City.

May 1984 - Cardiff City Player of the Year, Runner-up.

May 1985 - Cardiff City Player of the Year, Winner.

June 1985 - Professional Footballers Association Management Course: Graduated.

June 1986 - Appointed Player-manager at Newport County FC. Welsh Cup Final.

Feb 1987 - Appointed Assistant Manager/Coach to Ian Porterfield at Scottish Premier League club, Aberdeen FC. UEFA Cup Qualification

Nov 1987 - Skol Cup Final (v Rangers).

April 1988 - Semi-Finalist, Scottish FA Cup.

May 1988 - Fourth-place, Scottish Premier League. UEFA Cup Qualification.

July 1988 - Appointed Assistant Manager/Coach to Sam Ellis at Blackpool FC.

April 1989 - Appointed Manager of Blackpool FC. Northern Area Final, Sherpa Van Trophy.

July 1990 - Appointed Assistant Manager/Coach to Frank Casper at Burnley FC.

May 1991 - Division Four play-off semi-final.

Oct 1991 - Appointed Manager of Burnley FC.

Nov 1991 - Barclays Bank Manager of the Month (nine consecutive wins taking the team from 14th in October to top in December).

April 1992 - Autoglass Trophy Finalist.

May 1992 - Football League Division Four Champions, Barclays Bank League Manager of theYear, Northern Sportswriters Manager of the Year.

Aug 1992 - Lancashire FA Senior Cup: Winners.

May 1994 - Endsleigh League Division Two play-off winners. Became the first Manager to win at Wembley Stadium and return to Division One after 12 year period.

June 1994 - Northern Sportswriters Special Award Winner.

June 1995 - Obtained Football Association of Wales Senior Coaching Licence.

June 1996 - Obtained FAW/UEFA 'A' Licence.

Nov 1996 - Appointed Manager/Coach of Football Association of Ireland Premier League Club, Sligo Rovers FC. Cup Finalists - F.A.I. North West v Derry.

June 1997 - Football Association of Wales Staff Coach.

Dec 1997 - Appointed Director of Coaching/Manager at Telford United in the Vauxhall Conference.

Mar 1999 - Staff Coach F.A.W.under-16's and under-18's. Consultant to "Futures in Sport"- A programme of education to assist individuals to make the transition from playing to management.

Aug 1999 - Invited to take the 'PRO LICENCE' coaching certificate by the F.A.W.  - the highest qualification that can be awarded in professional football.

July 2000 - Staff Coach F.A.W. under-17's and under-18's.

Nov 2000 - Staff Coach F.A.W. under-19's for UEFA Competition v Slovakia & Latvia.

Dec 2000 - Staff Coach F.A.W. under-17's v Italy.

Mar 2001 - F.A Premier League - Academy Assessor.

April 2001 - AWARDED UEFA/FAW PRO LICENCE.

Aug 2001 - Press Association Football Commentator.

Aug 2001 - Staff Coach F.A.W. under-19's for UEFA Competition v Estonia & Poland.

May 2002 - Staff Coach F.A.W. under-19's friendly International v Norway.

July 2002 - Staff Coach F.A.W. under-19's Milk Cup Internationals v Paraguay, Northern Ireland and Scotland

Nov 2002 - Staff Coach F.A.W. under-19's UEFA Qualifiers v Hungary, Northern Ireland and Andorra.

July 2003 - Staff Coach F.A.W. under-19's Milk Cup Internationals v Brazil, Scotland and Eire.

Sept 2003 - Staff Coach F.A.W. under-19's UEFA Qualifiers v Portugal, Greece and Belarus.

Oct 2003 - May 2007 - Match and player assessments for a number of Premier League and Championship clubs along with various consultancy roles.

Sept 2007 - Appointed Assistant Manager at Walsall FC.

May 2008 - Appointed Manager at Walsall FC.