JAKE Spedding says he will have to earn his centre spot all over again after signing a new two-year deal with Widnes Vikings.

The former St Helens, Sheffield Eagles, Barrow Raiders and Featherstone Rovers centre or winger joined Vikings for the start of the 2020 season and was settling into his new role in Tim Sheens' side when the coronavirus pandemic struck and sport was brought to a standstill.

“It feels really good to have signed a new deal with the club," said the 23-year-old former England Academy international who hails from Leeds but played his junior rugby at Blackbrook in St Helens.

“I settled in really well here and enjoyed the start of the season, and hopefully we can look forward to a full fixture list over the next two seasons.

“The aspirations of the club played a big part in my decision, because they are building towards eventually being a Super League outfit again. Also, Tim being here another year was a big factor. His record speaks for itself; I’ve already picked lots of stuff up from him and look forward to continuing to work under him.

“I think me and Deon [Cross] had a good partnership going on that right edge, but there’s a long time before we start playing again and a lot of hard work to do. Competition for places will be strong and I’ll have to earn that spot all over again."

The 2020 Championship season has been cancelled and the players have spent months training on their own to keep their fitness levels ticking over.

“It’s been tough throughout lockdown because there was a long period of time where we didn’t know what was going to happen, but I think now we can all set our sights on 2021 and build up for a big year," said Spedding.

"Staying on top of our fitness has been tough. I’ve got some weights at home that have helped but obviously what I could do was limited. I’ve done quite a lot of circuit training and just got back in the gym this week to start preparing for next year.

“We don’t know a definite date for when we will be back in training just yet but I think there will be a real buzz around the place when we do get back. I’m sure there will be a few tough sessions to come.”

Spedding featured in six of the seven fixtures played before the cancellation of the season.

He crossed for four tries in that period, one on his Widnes debut against Oldham, a double on his home debut against Batley Bulldogs and a four-pointer in what proved to be the final game of the season against Swinton Lions.

Spedding made the move to the DCBL Stadium having spent the end of the 2019 campaign with fellow Championship outfit Featherstone Rovers.

His career started at St Helens, where he progressed through the Academy set-up to feature for the first team, before moving on to Sheffield Eagles and Barrow Raiders.