to enable him to play against Nottingham Forest on the same day. The deal was made permanent a day later for a fee of £600,000, rising to £800,000 should West Ham be promoted. Pardew said of him, "...I have captured a player that I feel is going to add significantly to us. [He] can play in various positions and give us cover in a number of those [...] I think ultimately he is a central midfield player for us and I think his energy will be important; he will have to battle in the midfield. He is someone we are going to look to when we are up against it, to win the battle and give the room to [other players] to play. He is very much a destroyer and I think we are desperate for one of those." Mullins made 34 league and cup appearances in his first season for West Ham, helping them to the First Division play-off final in May 2004, where they were beaten by a single goal to nil by Mullins' former club Crystal Palace. The following season, Mullins made 45 league and cup appearances as West Ham again reached the play-off final, this time beating Preston North End 1–0 to win promotion to the Premier League. West Ham exceeded expectations in the 2005–06 season, finishing in a mid-table position and reaching the FA Cup Final, which was won by Liverpool 3–1 on penalties. Mullins, having made 42 appearances in that season, was suspended for the final along with Liverpool's Luis García, after the pair had been sent off in a league fixture a few weeks earlier and an appeal against his dismissal was rejected by the Football Association. Pardew said, "I feel very aggrieved and very upset because Hayden has had a fantastic season. He has been one of our best players. He was my first signing here, I'm very proud of him, of what he has done and achieved." At the beginning of the 2006–07 season, West Ham completed the signing of Argentine international Javier Mascherano who, like Mullins, was a defensive midfielder. However, after a brief period on the bench, Mullins re-established himself in the first team and scored the winning goal, in a 2–1 home win over Blackburn Rovers in October 2006, which put an end to the worst run of results for West Ham in 74 years. Mullins made 32