Q&A: Widnes coach Neil Kelly

Widnes Vikings will play in the Super League next season, to the relief and joy of coach Neil Kelly and a legion of fans

BBC Sport Online gave you the chance to quiz the Vikings boss on the exciting times ahead.

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When Widnes Vikings won this year's Northern Ford Premiership Grand Final, promotion to the Super League was far from assured.

No team had been promoted since Wakefield Trinity in 1998, and the Vikings had to wait for the Super League to give them the nod.

But the wait is over as Widnes will join the big boys again after an absence of six years. And coach Neil Kelly is savouring the challenge ahead.

Neil answered your questions on the season past and future.

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Richard Shaw-Wright, England

Do you think that Widnes will be back as one of the top sides in our sport within the next few years, and what kind of players are you looking for to fill your squad?

We're obviously working towards becoming a major force in the game. In the short term we've got to be very realistic and look to consolidate our position in Super League. But once we've done that I don't see any reason why we can't challenge for some of the honours - certainly for some of the play-off spots. We've got to be very clever with our recruitment and make sure that we get players that give good value for money, and that can also achieve on the field.

The club's spent the previous five or six years sorting its own finances out, and I'm sure that in times to come they'll look back on this period as being one of the most positive in the club's history, in that they sorted their own finances out. They're going into Super League in a very healthy position, and on where they're not going to get themselves in to any sort of problems.

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Pete, England

Neil - thanks for everything! We have a long lay-off now before the start of Super League. For those current members of the squad who will play a part next year, how will you start to prepare them mentally - particularly as it is new ground for you too?

I don't think that mental preparation will be that much of a problem. Northern Ford Premiership clubs meet Super League clubs every year in the Challenge Cup, and quite often they put in great performances, only to fall away in the last quarter of the game. That's obviously down to conditioning, and we're going to give the group of players that we retain in our squad as much chance as possible to condition themselves for Super League. Once you feel a lot stronger, faster and physically prepared, that will help overcome the psychological hurdles.

We are going to have to break up the side to some extent. There are some players that, by virtue of their age, or because they've got daytime occupations, who will be unable to stay with us. There will also be a handful of players that will maybe harbour ambitions to stay with us, and that we're going to have to make some tough decisions on.

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Peter, Lancs

What Super League table position are you hoping to aim for in Widnes' first season back in the Super League?

I'm a big believer in aiming high, and if you just miss out then you've probably still achieved a good position. I'm not going in there with the sole intention of avoiding relegation. If you do that then I think that you will end up in trouble. We'll be going in, very romantically I must add, and looking to win the competition. But realistically if the club could achieve seventh or eighth position, then that would be regarded as a good first season.

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Donna, Leeds

After winning the Northern Ford Grand Final, how did you rate your chances of promotion and how did you and the players celebrate when you heard the good news?

I won the Grand Final with Dewsbury last year and they've got a very modest stadium and support. That was a great achievement for them, but given the modest state of the club it was always going to be difficult for them to be promoted. Having now won it with Widnes - a club with great facilities, a very strong side and tremendous support, it always felt as though it was more of a foregone conclusion that we would get in this time. It's a great feeling, and the players celebrated the Grand Final win, and now we've had the bonus of having this decision, so we can celebrate again.

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Phil, UK

There has been talk recently that you may have been on your way to Warrington. How close were you to leaving Widnes and taking up that post?

At one point I was very close to taking the position there. The Grand Final win changed all that, and the decision this week to allow Widnes into Super League made me realize that I'd probably made the right decision.

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Bernie, UK

Which team and player do you rate most in the Super League?

There are several teams that you've got to admire in Super League. You've got to look at Bradford and admire their physical condition and strength. From a football point of view I do admire Saints for the cavalier way in which they play the game. It can cost them results, but when they play well, it's very pleasing and exciting to watch. The balance between those two sides would probably be Wigan, who play football, but can still do the physical stuff.

Player-wise I'm a big admirer of Lee Briers, who I think is a great all-round player. Defensively he needs to improve a little bit, but when you see him with the ball and with his kicking game he's a tremendous player.

Kieron Cunningham is another player that I have great admiration for. His decision to stay with St Helens was a most for the whole game. I think we're turning a corner in the quest to fight off interest from rugby union, which is a boost for everybody in the game.

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Lee B, Manchester

What do you make of players defecting to union and does it concern you that with your promotion to Super League, Widnes players will be in the limelight and ready to be poached?

I think there's been a lot of hysteria about potential raids from rugby union into rugby league. It's sad to see players go, but it's also a massive slap on the back for rugby league's ability to develop players. Rugby League's record for developing layers is such that nobody's irreplaceable.

We've had a lot of players over from Australia in the last 10-15 years. We've had some tremendous players over, but we've also had some over that weren't value for money. I think that with the year on year off reduction in the quota of overseas players, we're starting to see some homegrown players coming through. There's a lot of evidence to suggest that the future's bright if we stick with some of the English players.