WOW! What a great season it turned out to be. All the talk of marathons not sprints turned out to be true but our sprint finish following Neil Kelly's appointment was really something to behold.

The Grand Final day and homecoming were very special indeed and will live forever in my memory as some of the greatest in my 26 years as a Widnes fan.

The victory in the semi final at Leigh was another memorable day! After our win, I especially enjoyed presenting the Leigh chairman Mike Nolan with an eggcup to pass on to Paul Terzis. Paul sent me an Easter egg after our defeat at Leigh on Good Friday with a message to say that that was all we would take away from Hilton Park.

I think my consolation cup' emphasised the reply from the whole of the Vikings club and it added a little extra to my smile as Martin Crompton lifted the real Cup at Rochdale the following week.

As our dream is at last realised and we move up into Super League, I would like to give my thanks and those of my fellow directors to the tremendous fans who contributed so much to our success.

When preparing some figures recently for a presentation to potential sponsors, it was great to see that our attendance figures have grown by 70 per cent over the past three years. Is there any other club in our game that can match that?

Talking of Super League and the season ahead is certainly exciting but we must also realise that the tasks get even tougher from hereon. Looking at the gates as an example, we need to increase them by 60 per cent in ONE YEAR to meet the budget within the document presented to the Independent Panel.

We do have some mouth-watering Derby games ahead and I have every confidence in our own fans and the prospects of substantial numbers of visiting supporters.

I won't avoid the issue on admission price increases either. I appreciate that this year's increase is substantial. The special season ticket discount deal was designed to enable many of our regular fans to see matches at little more than last season's costs, but I accept that not everyone can afford £135 even with the various instalment options that are available.

We considered the match day process most carefully and researched other current Super League club prices as well as the expected levels for next season. We believe that prices fixed are fair for the level of football and quality of facilities available. I hope that most people will agree. Certainly, early season ticket sales have been very encouraging.

Neil will make his comments elsewhere on the playing side. Suffice to say from me that we are making progress and I am sure that by the time the new season commences we will have a team that can tackle the first objective of consolidating our position and building for an exciting future.

I am very much looking forward to our first season in Super League. The lead in to it will be particularly hard especially financially as News Corporation (Sky) monies do not start to come to the clubs for next season until January. Pre-season purchases of season tickets are therefore a great help to us and you will be doing the club as well as yourselves a favour if you buy early at the discounted rates.

Vikings Quids In (VIQI) was a major factor in signing Martin Crompton last season. They have launched a further initiative for more members to help with our team building this year. My sincere thanks for this and I urge all who can support through this route. Not forgetting of course our lottery, supporters club, etc.

One thing I really enjoyed in the Northern Ford Premiership was the way we recovered the family feeling around the club. So many people in various groups from all our sponsors, families, Lifeline Members, Vikings Ladies, Supporters Club, Ex-players, Millennium Club, 200 Club, Vice Presidents, North Standers, South Standers, match day personnel, schools rugby clubs, Internet surfers, chat room members and other groups and individuals.

Having typed all that makes me realise what a big family we have and no doubt I will have missed someone. My apologies if I have but on behalf of the board, who we hope you all see as part of the family too, thank you all.

Let's continue working together to make this the biggest and best family club in Super League.

Tony Chambers

Proud to be your chairman