Widnes Vikings can emulate Warrington - Jon Clarke

Jon Clarke hopes Widnes can emulate his former club Warrington in becoming a major Super League force.

The hooker spent 10 years with the Wire before becoming Vikings captain.

"I was at Warrington in the early 2000s when they were in a similar position to where Widnes are now," Clarke told BBC Radio Merseyside.

"I was lucky enough to be with Warrington in those years in which they progressed. If we can do the same at Widnes, that would be great."

Clarke helped Warrington to two consecutive Challenge Cup successes in 2009 and 2010, a feat that the Wolves repeated this year, while they are also one of the favourites to clinch a Grand Final place in October.

Widnes finished bottom of Super League at the end of the regular season, the Vikings' first back in the top division since 2005.

But Denis Betts' side recovered from an awful start to register some impressive wins in the latter half of the campaign and give fans optimism for next season.

Clarke continued: "It was all about how you wanted to approach it [this season].

"You can sulk and get disheartened with getting beaten most weeks. I wanted to win some games and help the club and the team progress over the next few years.

"I think the turning point of the season for me was when we played Warrington at the Magic Weekend. We got a real hammering, and in the following week we changed a few things with our defending.

"It went a long way to sorting some of our defensive frailties out. From that point on, we've improved week by week.

"Don't get me wrong, there have been some weeks that we'd want to forget, but all in all there's been a gradual progression."