York City’s new manager Gary Mills is determined to reward chairman Jason McGill’s belief in his ability by bringing successful times to Bootham Crescent.

Mills has spent the last five years working for part-time pair Alfreton Town and Tamworth, and guided the latter outfit to promotion to the Blue Square Premier before overseeing a season of consolidation and an encouraging start to the current campaign.

The former Nottingham Forest midfielder had a brief spell in charge of cross-city rivals Notts County back in 2004 but, at 48, admitted that he wondered whether he and his assistant Darron Gee would get another stab at managing a professional club.

Speaking with eloquence, enthusiasm, clarity and confidence at his first City press conference ahead of tomorrow’s home match with Bath City, Mills said: “Darron and I have worked hard at Tamworth and have been offered the chance to manage a fantastic football club with a great tradition.

“I’m delighted to be here. It’s nice to be wanted and I need to repay the chairman for that.

“We have been given an opportunity that we thought might not come our way again. We had a bit of a disappointment at Notts County, but proved once more how capable we are at Alfreton and Tamworth and that opened this door at York City.

“I am here for one reason only – to make this club successful. We will turn things around and make the team start believing they can win football matches. We also want other teams to be afraid of coming to play York City.”

Tamworth currently lie three places above 16th-placed City in the Blue Square Premier standings but Mills believes he has left the Lambs for a club with greater potential.

He added: “I had a great time at Tamworth and it’s a great club but there are limitations to what you can achieve. Success at Tamworth is staying in the Conference.

“We did that and we did it well. We have beaten big, big sides and earned the respect of all the clubs in the league.

“We have made a small football club into a force in the Blue Square Premier. That takes a lot of doing and we are proud of that, as is everybody at Tamworth.

“We have proven there that you can win football matches if you approach them in the right manner. There’s not much between the top and bottom teams in this division but being disciplined, knowing your jobs and respecting one another makes the difference.”

Mills steered clear of promising instant success at Bootham Crescent or future promotion, but is refusing to rule out a quick reversal of the club’s fortunes.

Despite hovering just two points above the relegation zone, City are only seven adrift of the play-off places with Mills saying: “The immediate aim is to get three points against Bath tomorrow.

“That’s important to us because, within two or three weeks in this division, outlooks can change too. The position we are in now is not the end of the world and we will be okay.

“There’s a lot of football left to be played. If we had beaten Bath at Tamworth, we would have gone top but now, three weeks later, the club are 13th – that’s how quickly things can change.

“Long term, we want to get out of this league. The club has been here too long but I’m sure everybody’s heard all that before.

“There will be no promises from me about getting the club back into the Football League but that’s our aim.

“The way to go about that is by working hard and being disciplined.

“We will also be trying to achieve what we want to achieve with a smile on our faces because I want a bunch of players who enjoy working for me.”

Every squad man, said Mills, would be given an equal chance to impress, meaning senior players such as Jonathan Smith and Duane Courtney, who have fallen out of favour in recent times.

Mills said: “It’s a fresh start for all the players and I think they will enjoy working with and learning from me. If they are not good enough, I can’t do anything about that but, if they are and are not making the most of their ability, that’s a problem.

“I think there are some good players here and we have got to get the best out of them.”

Mills also stressed his style is not to become bogged down by worrying about the opposition, adding: “I’m not bothered whether we are playing Bath City, Luton Town or Crawley.

“We have just got to concentrate on our players doing their jobs correctly. If the players are organised and regimental in what they do, you win matches so I won’t be worrying about the opposition.

“It’s all about how we play and I can’t wait for tomorrow. We are ready to go.”

City could, meanwhile, implement a tactical change for Mills’ first match after playing 4- 4-2 for most of the season.

“I’ve been playing 4-3-3 at Tamworth and it’s been very successful for me so we will have to see where we go with that one,”

Mills pondered. “You might need the right personnel to do it but that’s not a major issue.”

Despite a couple of appearances for Tamworth last season and naming himself as a substitute against Southport just this month, Mills is unlikely to throw his boots on for the Minstermen.

He added: “I had a playing contract at Tamworth but I’m nearly 49 and I don’t think the chairman has brought me in for that reason.”