Betts has faith in Widnes squad

Widnes coach Denis Betts says he has faith in his young squad, having made just one new signing over the close season.

Kevin Brown, signed from Huddersfield, remains the only new face at the Stobart Stadium, with the only further additions coming in the shape of Joe Mellor and Stefan Marsh from Wigan, who both spent last season on loan at the club.

The Vikings finished bottom of the table in 2012, recording six wins, although they showed a marked improvement in the second half of the campaign.

Betts said: “My objective was never to make mass changes. Sometimes you must have faith in people and believe that they are progressing and getting better.

“If we can keep the core of our team fit and strong we are going to be competitive every week.

“We finished the season pretty strongly. The way we played in the second half of the year didn’t really translate to our position in the table.

“There was a real positive vibe among the players. They started getting their heads around what we were trying to do, started getting more confidence as they started to know each other.

“When we could pick our best team we were competitive. I was really happy with the way we went about our business in the second half of the year.”

Widnes could yet add more new faces to their squad, having taken former Bradford utility Phil Joseph, who featured in the Boxing Day friendly against Warrington, and ex-Huddersfield back-rower Matt Sarsfield on trial.