Mills captained the Leicester team that reached the First Division play-offs in 1992–93 with a sixth place league finish, and they beat Portsmouth 3–2 on aggregate in the semi-final. However, they lost in the final for the second successive season, being beaten 4–3 by Swindon Town at Wembley Stadium. He made 53 appearances this season, missing only three of Leicester's fixtures. Mills featured regularly in 1993–94 before missing the last few months of the season with a foot injury, having made 25 appearances by then. By finishing fourth in the table Leicester made the First Division play-offs for the third successive season, and Mills led the team out before the final despite being unable to play. Leicester beat Derby County 2–1 and thus earned promotion to the Premier League.