Kevin Mulholland - Head of Medical Performance and Sports Science at Wrexham AFC
After studying Physiotherapy at Keele at both undergraduate and postgraduate level, Kevin Mulholland has gone on to work with teams at almost every level of football in the UK and Ireland, looking after the health and wellbeing of players up and down the country, leading to his current role as the Head of Medical Performance and Sports Science at Wrexham AFC. Here he talks about the opportunities Keele gave him, and the challenges of helping players at all levels maintain their peak performance.
I completed my BSc in Physiotherapy at Keele, and then did my MSc also in Physiotherapy at Keele, before starting work as a band 5 rotational physiotherapist in New Cross Hospital when I qualified. During that time, I also worked part time at Stoke City Football Club, covering the Academy teams from U19 to U18’s. An opportunity then came up to be the Head Academy Physiotherapist at Stoke City FC, where I was overseeing the medical care of 240 players and up to 30 staff at the club.
From there I progressed to working with the First Team at Sheffield Wednesday, before moving to Southampton FC in 2016 to be First Team Lead Performance Physiotherapist. Then in 2021, I moved to my current post as Head of Medical Performance and Sports Science at Wrexham AFC, where I have been ever since. Alongside these roles I have also been fortunate enough to have worked with the Republic of Ireland’s national team for over 14 years, both as Head Physiotherapist for the under-21s, and more recently as the Head of Physiotherapy for the Men’s International Team. I’ve been very lucky to have worked at all levels of football and experienced joy and disappointment across all levels. From World Cup qualifiers to European Final Tournaments alongside Premier league campaigns, FA Cup finals, EFL Cup finals and playoff matches, I’ve had lots of different memories and wouldn’t change a thing.
It sounds cliché but it’s true to say that no two days at Wrexham AFC are ever the same. A “typical” day will start with a MDT team meeting with physios, sport scientists, the club doctor, nutritionist and sports rehab specialists, discussing what we are doing that day for both fit and injured players, to make sure we have planned appropriately. Following this, I’ll meet with the manager and coaching staff to discuss training content for the day, who’s fit to train, inform them how injured players are progressing, and any requirements or adjustments needed throughout training. In the afternoon, we’ll have another medical meeting to recap on how players performed during training, and speak to the manager about any concerns, or players who might have had issues from the session. I’ll also check in with the Academy and Women’s staff to make sure everything is OK with them, so it’s a big role with lots of different teams, and it relies crucially on honest, open communication and teamwork.
Keele prepared me really well for going into industry, and working in the NHS, thanks to the placements we undertook throughout the course. I was lucky enough to have one placement with the physio team at Crewe Alexandra, which really confirmed for me that I wanted to work in a professional sporting environment. When you qualify, I think you can sometimes be a bit naive in thinking “I’ve qualified, I’m ready to be a physio now”, but you quickly realise that there is a lot more to learn on the job, and the placements prepared me really well for that. Even now, there’s still a lot to learn and I constantly want to continue to better myself and my team. When I look back at those nine years spent at Keele (at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels), I think they have massively helped me – I probably would not be where I am today without Keele and the wonderful staff throughout the University.
Keele is like nowhere else, and I have such fond memories of it. The friendships I made there, the uniqueness of the campus, the “family feeling” of the place, all make it really special for me.