Crewe can go under the radar for promotion - Offord

Returning Crewe Alexandra centre-back Luke Offord says he is hoping the Alex can go "under the radar" in their bid for promotion in League Two this season.

The 26-year-old is back at the club after spending the past two years with MK Dons.

Offord, who made 170 appearances for the Railwaymen after coming through the club's academy, said he wanted to come back to "get Crewe out the league".

The chance to work with boss Lee Bell again was also an added pull.

"The seasons I had previously before I left with the manager, I thought I did really well and probably played the best football under him," Offord told BBC Radio Stoke.

"It's a good style of play and it's something that I wanted to get back playing under him.

"I spoke to him over the summer and I looked at the team still here and it's obviously a really good team and I just thought it'd be a good fit."

Offord said he had "learned a lot" in his time away playing under former Derby boss Paul Warne at MK Dons and added he would use that - along with his promotion-winning experience in his first spell with the Alex - to "take into Crewe and help the younger players out".

Although part of the Alex team that won promotion to League One in 2019-20, he missed the chance to do it again four seasons later because of injury as the club reached the League Two play-off final.

Offord said trying to make up for that was another big reason for returning.

"Missing out on Wembley and obviously I was having a good season. I wanted to come back," he said.

"We're not going to be expected to be up there in the top three, but it's a challenge and something I look forward to. I know the manager, what he can do.

"The two years while I'm here we can get out of the league."

With Crewe hoping to build a more sustained challenge for promotion this season after their promising effort last term faded over the closing stages, Offord thinks they are well placed to hold their own in what he think will be a typically competitive division.

"It's going to be difficult, but all the seasons that I've had success in League Two you've got to have a good group of lads that are willing to work hard for each other, and that gets you quite far.

"Obviously it's physical, there's a lot of set pieces. We've got the quality at the top end of pitch to be able to change games.

"I think we can just go under the radar and see what happens. I wanted to come back to get Crewe out of the league and I think we'll have the team, the manager and the fans to do it."