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There's no better way to endear yourself to a manager you once turned down than to score a winner in his first game in charge.
That’s where Matt Mills found himself at St Andrew’s after his header gave Wanderers a well-earned 1-0 win over Birmingham City.
Mills had come desperately close to signing for Lennon at Celtic three years ago before opting to sign a mega-money deal at Leicester City under Sven Goran-Eriksson.
As his career with the Foxes unravelled the defender was then linked several times with a move to Parkhead before finally sealing a transfer to Wanderers.
But now reunited at the same club, Mills ensured there were no hard feelings by powering home a header in the first half to secure a much-needed three points for the Whites in the Northern Irishman’s first week at the helm.
“He watched me in the play-off final for Reading and it was before I went to Leicester,” Mills revealed.
“I spoke to the manager and didn’t decide to go through with it for whatever reason. But I’m very happy to be working with him now.
“I don’t think I’ve ever come across a more inspirational person in terms of being a winner. It’s no surprise he had such a fantastic playing career because of his love and passion for the game.
“I’m glad to work with him and hopefully it’s vice-versa. This is the next stage of my career and it is for him too.”
Mills admits he got a rude awakening to life under Lennon on Monday when he was ordered to remove a wooly hat in training.
But he had no complaints after nodding home the winning goal 20 minutes into the game from Jay Spearing’s corner.
“It’s quite funny because when a new manager comes in everyone does things differently,” he explained. “He pulled me to one side on Monday morning and said ‘take your hat off.’ I did, and he stuck it on his head because he said he was cold and then sent me on my way.
“Believe me, in his training you don’t stay cold for long. The training has been fantastic, the lads have been buzzing and the manager has got his point across.
“This is just the start and we’re all excited at what could be achieved this season.”
Mills refused to dwell on Craig Davies’ missed penalty that could have made the game more comfortable in the end. And he is now looking forward to taking another step in the right direction against Charlton tomorrow night at The Valley.
“You could see at the end that Craig was disappointed with missing but the manager has made it one of the first things on his agenda to say you don’t win games because of individuals, or talking about football, it’s about performing.
“It doesn’t matter that he missed a penalty because we’ve won the game,” he said.
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That’s where Matt Mills found himself at St Andrew’s after his header gave Wanderers a well-earned 1-0 win over Birmingham City.
Mills had come desperately close to signing for Lennon at Celtic three years ago before opting to sign a mega-money deal at Leicester City under Sven Goran-Eriksson.
As his career with the Foxes unravelled the defender was then linked several times with a move to Parkhead before finally sealing a transfer to Wanderers.
But now reunited at the same club, Mills ensured there were no hard feelings by powering home a header in the first half to secure a much-needed three points for the Whites in the Northern Irishman’s first week at the helm.
“He watched me in the play-off final for Reading and it was before I went to Leicester,” Mills revealed.
“I spoke to the manager and didn’t decide to go through with it for whatever reason. But I’m very happy to be working with him now.
“I don’t think I’ve ever come across a more inspirational person in terms of being a winner. It’s no surprise he had such a fantastic playing career because of his love and passion for the game.
“I’m glad to work with him and hopefully it’s vice-versa. This is the next stage of my career and it is for him too.”
Mills admits he got a rude awakening to life under Lennon on Monday when he was ordered to remove a wooly hat in training.
But he had no complaints after nodding home the winning goal 20 minutes into the game from Jay Spearing’s corner.
“It’s quite funny because when a new manager comes in everyone does things differently,” he explained. “He pulled me to one side on Monday morning and said ‘take your hat off.’ I did, and he stuck it on his head because he said he was cold and then sent me on my way.
“Believe me, in his training you don’t stay cold for long. The training has been fantastic, the lads have been buzzing and the manager has got his point across.
“This is just the start and we’re all excited at what could be achieved this season.”
Mills refused to dwell on Craig Davies’ missed penalty that could have made the game more comfortable in the end. And he is now looking forward to taking another step in the right direction against Charlton tomorrow night at The Valley.
“You could see at the end that Craig was disappointed with missing but the manager has made it one of the first things on his agenda to say you don’t win games because of individuals, or talking about football, it’s about performing.
“It doesn’t matter that he missed a penalty because we’ve won the game,” he said.
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