Mills journey shows persistence pays
Tom Mills has never been happier that he changed his mind and went to Maidstone trials.
Left-back Mills was ready to turn his back on football before his old Sheppey team-mate Ben O’Neill convinced him to go along to under-18 trials with the Stones.
Years down the line, Mills, now 25, feels like an established National League player after a fine season in which he’s got better and better.
Mills said: “It’s crazy. Going back eight years, I was at a stage where I wasn’t really into football and I felt I didn’t want to do it any more but I’m glad I stuck with it.
“We’ve had so many exciting games over the years. It’s been crazy with the promotions and now this season.
“I feel like a Conference player now although it’s still new. It’s completely different to the Conference South.
“Players get one chance in this league and they’ll just finish it, no doubt about it, but as a group I’d say we’re Conference players and I’m looking forward to seeing what happens next year.”
Mills has been a virtual everpresent during Stones’ climb from Ryman League, Division 1 South to the top flight of non-league.
They’ve had to fight to stay up this year but Mills has enjoyed the experience. He said: “You go around so many clubs and stadiums and it’s brilliant to go to away games and see what grounds they’ve got and stuff like that.
“I think Tranmere was the best ground I’ve been to, just because of that massive stand behind the goal.
“When you’re younger, you see these teams on the television and then you go to their grounds and it can be daunting.”
Mills faces Tranmere again when they visit the Gallagher for the final game of the season on Saturday.
Rovers missed out on the title to Lincoln but will go into the play-offs as runners-up.
It’s a nice game for Maidstone to finish on as they look to clinch a top-half finish.
Mills said: “It’s one you looked at and thought we might need to get something from to stay up when well.
“You go back two or three months, the run we’ve been on is unbelievable.
“Jay (Saunders) got into us and he’s done well, as have all the staff, to get us drilled and go on a massive run.
“Even though we had a little blip against Macclesfield, we’ve done so well to get ourselves out of trouble and we could get ourselves up to 10th, which is ridiculous from where we were.”
Mills was impressed with champions Lincoln on Tuesday and thinks they will do well in League 2.
They made nine changes at the Gallagher but Mills felt they were still a class act.
He said: “The first 10 minutes I thought we were a bit shaky but once we got into it, I thought we did all right.
“They played a lesser team but it seemed like their first team and I thought we did well to get a point.
“They get on the ball and they move it about and you’ve got to be on your toes otherwise they’ll find holes and punish you.
“I don’t think they’re a Conference team. They should be a league team and I think they’ll do well next season.” results weren’t going so