BURTON Albion have appointed Gary Mills as First Team Coach.
Mills joins the club from Coventry City where he was Lead Professional Development Phase Coach.
His playing career saw him come through the academy with the Sky Blues, before representing Rushden & Diamonds in the Football League. He then went on to play for the likes of Crawley Town, Stevenage Borough, Mansfield Town and Lincoln City.
His previous coaching roles also include Northampton Town and MK Dons.
On joining the club, Mills said: “My journey so far has mainly seen me work in player development, with the idea of always getting into senior football - now my time has come and I've loved every second so far.”
“I played with Dino when we were both at Stevenage and we’ve kept in touch - the same with John Dreyer. The conversations were ongoing and he asked me if I wanted to be a part of this fantastic club.”
“I’ve come here many times as a player and its always been a great place to come and play your football, it’s a family club, its well run and the supporters are always right behind the team.
"I spoke to the Chairman as well before joining and he was brilliant with me.
"I'd also like to thank Coventry for helping me with a smooth transition and for allowing me to come straight into role."
Mills replaces the departed Chris Beardsley and despite having only been here for one week, the new First Team Coach has been impressed from what he’s seen so far from the Brewers squad.
“The lads are really receptive and have been working really hard, the gaffer puts a big demand on the players to work hard and they have.
"I used to play with Beardo and he's a great guy. I spoke to him to do a bit of a handover and he's been excellent in helping me prior to coming in.
“I’m a fresh voice and fresh pair of eyes which I think is extremely important and hopefully that will help to kick us up the league.”
Manager Dino Maamria said: “I’ve known Gary for a long time as a player and as a coach, he’s a young coach who wants to develop and wants to learn.
“He’s hungry to succeed and I thought he’d be a really good fit for the football club so we’re happy to have him on board.”