 Complete the following phrase:  Mills played for a local village team before being spotted by a Nottingham Forest scout at the age of 11. Aged 14 he broke into Forests reserve team, which played in the Central League. Mills also played for Long Buckbys youth team, and was part of the team that won a national under-16 competition. He started his senior career at Forest under the management of Brian Clough, making his first-team debut in a 21 victory at home to Arsenal in the First Division on 9 September 1978, and in doing so became Forests youngest league player at the age of 16 years and 203 days. Mills signed a professional contract with Forest on 13 November 1978, two days after his 17th birthday, after serving his apprenticeship He scored his first goal for Forest with the opening goal of a 21 win away to Leeds United on 15 May 1979. Despite not participating in the 