Newport County announce Hayden Mullins as their new manager after the surprise departure of Christian Fuchs back in June.
Fuchs stepped down as the manager of Newport on the 27th of June, after just seven months in charge, keeping them in the EFL with a win against Barrow on the final day.
Mullins had been in charge of Fulham’s under 21s since July 2023, won the Premier League Cup in May 2024 with a 4-0 win against Tottenham U21s.
Fulham also noted guiding them to top-four finishes in PL2 in each of his three seasons in charge, and to the Premier League International Cup Semi-Finals a year later.
In May, he also won the inaugural PL2 Head Coach of the Season award, voted for by fellow PL2 Coaches and played an important role in the development of the likes of Josh King, Luc De Fougerolles and Seth Ridgeon.
Newport County is delighted to announce the appointment of Hayden Mullins as the club’s new manager 🤝
Mullins arrives at Rodney Parade with a wealth of playing and coaching experience and will take charge of the first team with immediate effect 🙌
Welcome to Newport, Hayden!… pic.twitter.com/PCgqlIncWj
— Newport County (@NewportCounty) July 31, 2026
A statement on the club website read: “Newport County is delighted to announce the appointment of Hayden Mullins as the club’s new manager.
“Mullins arrives at Rodney Parade with a wealth of experience from both his playing and coaching career, having represented clubs including Crystal Palace, West Ham United and Portsmouth before moving into management.
“The former midfielder made over 500 senior appearances during a distinguished playing career, featuring in the Premier League and EFL, while also earning international honours with England at under-21 level.
“Following his retirement, Mullins began his coaching journey at Reading before joining Watford in 2016, initially working with the club’s academy before progressing to manage the under-23 side.
“During his time at Vicarage Road, Mullins twice stepped into the role of caretaker manager, taking charge of the first team following the departures of Quique Sánchez Flores in 2019 and Nigel Pearson in 2020.
“He later joined Colchester United as assistant head coach before being appointed the club’s permanent head coach in May 2021.
“After his spell at Colchester, Mullins continued to broaden his coaching experience with the Turks and Caicos Islands national team before joining Fulham as under-21 head coach in July 2023.
“During his time at Craven Cottage, he enjoyed success by leading Fulham Under-21s to the Premier League Cup title in 2024, defeating Tottenham Hotspur Under-21s 4-0 in the final.
“Hayden Mullins will take charge of the first-team squad with immediate effect. His first match in the dugout will come on Saturday when Newport County face Yeovil Town in pre-season, before leading the side into Tuesday night’s fixture against AS Roma at Rodney Parade.
“The club can also confirm that assistant manager Mark Smith has departed Newport County.
“Everyone at the football club would like to thank Mark for his hard work, professionalism and commitment during his time at Rodney Parade and wish him every success for the future.
Everyone at Newport County would like to welcome Hayden and his family to the football club and wish him every success in amber and black.”
Here’s how fans reacted as Newport County announce a new manager after the surprise departure of Christian Fuchs…
@William_Downs_: Thought we had learnt our lessons about experimenting ? Hope he doesn’t try this passing out from the back that he probably did with Fulham’s U21’s, hopefully he’s got good contacts for loan signings, I’ll back him but this feels like another gamble see where we are in October
@MrRussellmyn: Young manager given a chance…get behind him and you never know he might do well..
@CountyIssy: Feels like David Hughes mark 2 but hope I’m wrong. Welcome Hayden 🧡🖤
@andy_ncfc: Id be lying if I said i was excited by this, but you know what – it is what it is. Welcome to the club – time to get to work 💪🏻 I’ll be interested to see an interview with him to see his personality and beliefs. UTC ⚽️
@ethan_jn____: I give up at this point, i will back him but we all know he will be gone in novemeber and we will be back in the shit, jenkins finn and trust out.
@BigTom0491: Delighted to see him getting a chance!! Was bloody class for #Notts definitely one my favourite players over last 20 years.
@KeironMedia: Not convinced off one bit. Its the same story different name on first glance. More than happy to be proven wrong. We’ll see…
@MarkVickery4: Welcome to madhouse!
@jackbequick: Would have much preferred FA Trophy winning Kevin Maher but who knows what the options really were behind the scenes. Morbidly concerned that we haven’t learnt our lessons from appointing coach / academy candidates a la Jardim, Hughes, Rowberry, Fuchs….. 5th time’s a charm?
@PoZu72: With who we’ve been linked with, This just seems like Huw picking out a yes man. But I had similar reservations with Fuchs and I loved him by the end of the season. Unforgivable if this goes wrong Huw. He’s here now and I’m sure we’ll all hack him. Welcome Hayden
@CashmereKnits: No choice but to get behind him. Uppa fucking Mullins 🔶⬛️
@shaneprice_87: give him the tools now to work with. players.
@TLLeagueLot: Great opportunity for Hayden Mullins at a really decent club. Gut feeling is that this could be a good appointment and a nice fit. Get behind him #OneClubOneCounty
@jasewelsh86: Fella hasn’t even started his job yet and the fan base already casing a negative shadow. I hope he makes the doubters look like mugs! Nobody starts a job to fail. Get behind him and just let him concentrate on the football! Good luck Hayden! #UTC
