Mills vows he won't play for Reid again

England right-back Mills was publicly humiliated by Leeds manager Reid before he joined Boro on a season's loan in August.

The former Sunderland boss was scathing of Mills' lack of form and fitness.

But Mills maintains Leeds had an ulterior motive to cash in on him and alleviate crippling debts.

The plan backfired, however, when Boro baulked at their asking price and Leeds had to settle for easing their wage bill by allowing Mills to move to the Riverside on temporary terms.

Mills, 26, has now set his sights on winning a permanent deal from Boro boss Steve McClaren as he looks to draw a line under his Leeds career.

"I can't see a scenario where I would go to play for him (Reid),'' said Mills, who still has four years to run on his lucrative Elland Road contract.

"He is the manager and he was quite happy to let me go on loan or a permanent deal to a Premiership club. That means I don't fit into his plans and I don't think that will change.

"I haven't spoken to him since I came here - I'll see if a Christmas card comes in the post!

"It was clear to me from an early stage that I wasn't going to figure in his plans. I had to decide whether to just sit at Leeds and take my money, having signed a big contract, or whether I wanted to do what was right for me and go out and play football.

"I decided that I needed to get away from Leeds to get first-team football. He came in last season with eight games to go and substituted me three times. When I spoke to him in pre-season, there was a lot of speculation that the club were looking to off-load the high wage-earners, and my name was thrown into the mix.

"He assured me I was part of his plans, but said he didn't think I'd played well since he'd taken over.

"Things became a bit clouded before I left and there were four or five different reasons for wanting me out of the club.

"Finally, it came out that there was never really a problem and they needed to off-load me for the money so he could get other people in.

"It was possibly a difficult situation for the manager. If it was down to money, I presume the club wouldn't have wanted to admit that early on because my valuation would have dropped instantly and they needed to hold out to get as much money as possible.

"Steve originally tried to get me in for the Arsenal and Leicester games over August Bank Holiday. We tried to rush everything through, but certain things needed to be ironed out at Leeds. It was all a bit hectic and there was talk of a permanent move, but once Leeds realised that was possible, my price was inflated slightly and that caused one or two problems.

"I had to make a decision about whether to hold out to the day of the deadline and risk having to play in the reserves at Leeds for a year, or take a gamble elsewhere and have faith in my ability to get a move at the end of it.

"I've been very impressed with the set-up here at Middlesbrough and, if I was given the choice, I would like to sign permanently. I'm sure this club is going places.

"Part of the reason for coming here was knowing Steve and what his principles are, having worked with him when he was England coach. I think he's a very good coach and one of the better ones I've worked with.

"He's turned things around here and we just need that extra edge to push into the top eight and take us on towards Europe.

"But if it doesn't happen for me here, there'll be other opportunities. I'll be disappointed if I haven't done enough to impress Middlesbrough and if that's the case I'll just have to look at all my options.

"At the end of the season, I'll still have four years of my contract left at Leeds and if I want to go back there, that's my prerogative.

"You never know what's going to happen and there's a chance I could end up back at Leeds next year.

"That's out of my control. I've fallen out with managers before and it's something that happens in football. You have to get on with it and move on. The game is all about opinions.''

Mills has also found himself out of favour with England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson. He was hauled off near half-time on his last appearance in the Euro 2004 qualifying victory over Slovakia at the Riverside in June.

"I've had enough doubters,'' said Mills. "I maybe surprised one or two people at the World Cup. Gary Neville was injured and I was given a chance.

"I was disappointed not to be involved in the first Euro qualifiers, but again that was down to the manager's decision.

"Last year at Leeds didn't help, with them struggling, and my own form was a bit up and down.

"But whatever happens now, I've played in a World Cup. I'm enjoying football again and I'll just see where that takes me. Who knows that will happen when the Euro 2004 finals come round next summer?''

* Defender Robbie Stockdale has signed a month's loan deal with West Ham.

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