 This was the first time Mills had won his opening match as manager at a new club.Mills was named the Conference Premier Manager of the Month for October 2013 after Gateshead won all five matches that month, conceding only one goal.Gateshead's form continued to improve and by mid January 2014 they had moved into a play-off place; Mills commented in February that "When I came in, I wanted everyone here to believe that we could win promotion – I think they're starting to now".