ELLIOT BALE is hoping he can help Moseley push for an immediate return to the Championship after joining them from Plymouth Albion.

The 24-year-old fly-half was announced as Moseley’s latest signing on Wednesday, having agreed to join the Birmingham-based club earlier this summer.

Bale, now fully fit after surgery on his knee at the end of February, had talks with number of clubs at the end of last season, including Albion, but opted for Moseley, who were looking to boost their number 10 options after losing Glyn Hughes and former Plymouth player Charlie Foley to higher league clubs.

“I think it will be good for me,” said Rugby-born Bale. “They’ve got Kevin Maggs and Louis Deacon as their coaches and it is nearer home as well.

“Hopefully, we’ll have a chance to try and get promoted or at least compete in the top four.”

Moseley are planning to copy Albion’s approach following their relegation last season and have a mixture of full and part-time players, with main training sessions in an evening.

“I think they have re-signed 11 or 12 of their players from last season, so a bit more than Albion the previous year,” said Bale. “They are in the process of trying to get a squad of about 25 players, so half the squad is going to be new.”

Despite a frustrating season with injury last season, Bale enjoyed life at Albion, but after speaking to the new owners of the club he felt it was best to leave Brickfields.

“I did speak to Plymouth, but for me personally the dismissal of Graham (Dawe) was just plain wrong. I think after that I had basically decided that it was better to move on elsewhere,” he said.

“I think somewhere like Moseley where they have good coaches and a good structure in place will be the best place for me.

“When I spoke to Plymouth everything was in the air. They didn’t know what coach they were going to have for the season and didn’t know the structure for pre-season.

“When you’ve got something unknown compared to something really positive and you know what is in place and is organised, then you are going to end up choosing that.

“I think I can develop as a player at Moseley, which is key. If I had signed for Plymouth I would have been signing blind – I didn’t know what it was going to be.”

He added: “Plymouth is a lovely town – I really enjoyed living there – and the lads did really well. From a club point of view I think we exceeded all expectations last season.”

Bale started last season as Albion’s first choice fly-half. He scored 28 points in three matches but then injured his knee, which gave Billy Searle his chance.

The knee injury plagued Bale all season and he tried various treatments before having an operation at the end of February.

Despite not been able to train fully, Bale still made nine replacement appearances and inspired Albion to an amazing comeback at Fylde after coming on as a replacement.

On his season at Brickfields, Bale said: “The first couple of games went really well for me personally, but the knee then hampered me.

“In hindsight, I probably should have got it sorted out earlier in the season but when you are desperate to play and help out you end up playing through it.

“But the surgery was good and I’m back in full training now and all sorted for next season.”

He added: “The injury prevented me from training and kicking every day, but I still had the ambition to make an impact when I was playing.

“The system that was in place just helped you be able to understand your role. When I played I still felt comfortable going out there and performing.”

Bale’s first chance to return to Brickfields will be on November 12 when Albion entertain Moseley.