 Less than a month later he made a temporary return to England by signing for Forest's local rivals Derby County on loan on 13 October 1982.Mills made his debut three days later in a 1–1 away draw with Grimsby Town in the Second Division, before scoring his first goal with Derby's second in a 2–0 home win over Queens Park Rangers on 3 January 1983.His loan ended in April 1983, having made 23 appearances and scored 2 goals for Derby in 1982–83.