 Darron Gee joined him as his assistant, and the two went on to frequently work together as a management team.Mills' managerial and playing debut for Grantham was in a 3–0 home defeat to Grimsby Town in the quarter-final of the Lincolnshire Senior Cup on 13 August 1996, and he scored his first goal for them in a 3–2 win home over Evesham United on 21 September.He led the team to fourth place in the Southern League Midland Division in 1996–97, missing out on second place and thus promotion by one point.