Career
Rushden & Diamonds
Born in Isle of Sheppey, Mills began his career with Coventry City before joining Rushden & Diamonds in their youth system on 21 July 1997. [4] His debut for the club, at the age of 17, came on 22 December 1998 in a Conference League Cup game away to Farnborough Town. [4] He went on to make 16 league appearances during the 1999–2000 season, being named in the starting line-up 8 times.
The following season, Mills was part of the Rushden squad that secured promotion to the Football League after winning the Football Conference, playing in 2 league games.
Although expected to battle against relegation, the Rushden team of 2001–02 exceeded expectations by reaching the Third Division play-off final, though they lost to Cheltenham Town. During this time, Mills was still used as a fringe player, only playing 2 games.
The Diamonds continued to impress in the league, finishing first in Division Three and winning promotion the next season. Mills established himself as one of the club's first choice midfielders, playing in 30 league games. Likewise, in the next campaign, Mills played a further 30 games, though the club had far less success as they were immediately relegated back to Division Three. He did, however, score his first goal for the club that season in a 2–1 victory over Tranmere Rovers. [5]
On 11 September 2004, Mills suffered a dislocated ankle in a league match against Oxford United, leading him to miss the rest of the 2004–05 campaign. [6]
After the success Mills had enjoyed in the early part of his career, he was then part of the Rushden team relegated to the Conference in the 2005–06 season. He left Nene Park on 20 April 2006, his contract cancelled by mutual consent having not played since early February. [7] Rushden's relegation from The Football League was confirmed nine days later. [8]
Return to Rushden
Mills re-joined Rushden & Diamonds on 9 January 2007 on a short-term contract. Despite numerous managerial changes at the club, Mills became a regular in the first team squad, making 7 appearances for the remainder of the season as Rushden finished in mid-table. [10] He was not offered a contract extension by Rushden manager Garry Hill, and left the club in May 2007.
Tamworth
On 25 May 2007 Mills signed for Conference North side Tamworth, managed by Mills' namesake Gary Mills, though of no relation. [11]
On 24 October 2007, Mills was sacked by Tamworth following an argument with manager Gary Mills. The manager accused Mills of having "no bottle, no balls, and no discipline", regarding the player's lack of effort and reaction to being dropped from the first team. The player Mills, meanwhile, retorted that Tamworth was "the worst club [I have] ever been at." [12]
Kettering Town
Following his acrimonious departure from Tamworth, Mills went into talks with fellow Conference North club Kettering Town, signing for the club just three days later. [13] He played 27 games, scoring twice, as the club stormed to promotion to the Conference National with 97 points. His contract was not renewed at the end of the season.
Mansfield Town
On 26 May 2009, Mills rejected a contract offer from Stevenage Borough to sign for Mansfield Town on a two-year deal. [15]
Forest Green Rovers
In October 2010, Mills signed for fellow Conference side Forest Green Rovers on a one-month loan deal. [16] Mills played just two times for Forest Green before returning to Mansfield.
Third spell at Rushden
In January 2011, after being released from Mansfield Town, Mills was snapped up by Rushden manager Justin Edinburgh for his third spell at the club. [17]
Bath City
Mills joined Bath City on a one-year deal in May 2011. [18] However Mills quit the club in September 2011 when the travelling distances from his Northampton base became too much.
Nuneaton Town
After leaving Bath, Mills instantly signed for Conference North outfit, Nuneaton Town. [19] In October 2011, Mills picked up a knee injury which ruled him out of action for three months. [20] On 13 May 2012, Mills was a part of the Nuneaton side that was victorious in the Conference North play off final that earned promotion to the Conference National. [21]
Lincoln City and Boston United
On Monday 21 May 2012 it was reported that Gary had signed a one-year contract with Lincoln and was named captain City.[18] On Monday 4 March 2013 it was reported that the Lincoln City captain left the club by mutual consent. In May 2013, Mills joined Boston United. He then signed on loan for King's Lynn Town in January 2014 on a deal that lasted until the end of the season. [22]
Coaching and Management career
Mills was assistant manager to Kevin Wilkin at Wrexham until March 2015 when he and Wilkin both left the club. However, Mills was then given his first taste of management after being appointed as Dave Stringer's replacement at Step 8 side Rugby Town on 13 May 2015, with former Bedford Town manager Craig Adams joining as his assistant. He left the club after a poor start to the 2015/16 season. [23] [24]
In May 2016, Mills returned to his former club, King's Lynn Town as player-coach. [3] On 19 October 2016, Mills was appointed as the manager of Corby Town with fellow former Rushden & Diamonds academy product David Bell joining him as his assistant. [25] After leaving the team on 21st in the table, and didn't manage to get a single win in the last five games, he got fired on 9 April 2017. [26]
In December 2022, Mills was appointed lead professional development coach at Coventry City, joining the club from Milton Keynes Dons where he had held a similar position. [27]
In September 2023, Mills was appointed first-team coach at League One club Burton Albion. [28] Following the sacking of Dino Maamria in December 2023, Mills was appointed caretaker manager. [29] He returned to his role of first-team coach following the appointment of Martin Paterson on 11 January 2024. [30]
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