Mills talks fully about his current situation and praises the new City boss for his open and honest approach towards the man he capped 19 times whilst England head coach.
Following yesterday’s story on mcfc.co.uk where Sven admitted Mills’ future lies elsewhere, Danny explained: “I went to see the gaffer after he’d been here for just over a week and at this time of life now I’m in a position where I’m back, fully fit, and I want to play football.
“He fully understood that and he said at the time he didn’t quite know what the situation was with everybody and he was looking to bring new players in. I just got on, did the right thing and worked hard, as I’ve always done and looked to compete for a place.
Despite featuring in most of the Blues’ pre-season fixtures, the former Leeds defender was told games might be hard to come by with City this season.
“The Manager pulled me in last week and was very honest, which is quite refreshing in this day and age, for someone to call you in and speak to you openly and honestly,” confirmed Mills.
“Sven told me I wasn’t going to be first choice and not to be surprised if I’d only played three or four games before Christmas. The Manager said he’s very happy with what I’ve been doing and happy for me to stay.
“He’s pleased with my attitude and how I’ve worked well. Fitness and professionalism have never really been a problem for me, but he said that if I want to play regular first team football, then he’d be happy for me to look for a move elsewhere.
“He’s been fair and honest and I’ve not got any problem with that whatsoever - I respect him for that.
“That’s great to hear that from a manager. Too many managers are scared of upsetting players’ egos these days, so for him to say what he has, I fully respect that.”
With Mills on a contract that runs up until the end of the season after next he could take the easy option and accept that he will be a Blues squad player for the season, but as Sven stated of the 30-year-old yesterday, ‘He doesn’t have any other gear than 100%,’ so that is not an option for him.
The fiery full-back declared: “I’ve got two years left on my contract and could quite easily sit here playing in the reserves, see that out and whittle away the next two years, but that’s not what I’m about.
“I want to play first team football and now this is a chance for me to have a good look around and see what’s going on.”
After missing most of the second half of the season with a foot injury, Mills is now raring to go and ‘flying’, which may worry some wingers up and down the country.
He said: “I’ve not played for some time after my serious injury problem last season. I took the option where I could have maybe come back in the last month or so of the season, but I thought it was better and more professional to get 100% fit and come into pre-season flying, which is what I’ve done.”
So where does Danny go from here? “I’m at a stage of my career now where I want to play football,” he added. “It’s by far the most important thing. I don’t want to be travelling around on the bench, I want a decent chance at getting into a first team.
“It’s just a case of seeing what’s out there and what offers come in. People may be sceptical about how badly I want to play. I can assure anybody that I want to play more than anybody else and that’s why I’m not going to just sit here and be a squad player, relax and go into semi-retirement with weekends off.
“I’ve played football for the last 16 years and I want to play football on Saturday afternoons. That’s what I’m all about and that’s what I’m determined to do.
“I’ve got five or six years left. Fitness has never been an issue, my desire has never been called into question, and so I look at having that much football left in me. Maybe there’s a new, fresh challenge out there and I’m looking forward to that.”
