Following the collapse of Telford United there was a race to Mills' signature, which was eventually won by Hereford United. Graham Turner having signed Mills, Mark Robinson and Jonathan Gould, looked to improve upon 2003–04's second-place finish, which saw the "Bulls" agonizingly close to automatic promotion to the Football League. Nine league goals from Mills in the 2004–05 season could not help United catch runaway champions Barnet, for a second consecutive season they crashed out in the play-off semi-finals. Four of his goals had come in the first two months, despite starting just five matches. Mills was released after the semi-final defeat, as was fellow veteran Graham Hyde.