IAN Whitten hopes Exeter Chiefs can start to force their way into the latter stages of competitions after signing a new two-year deal with the club.
The two-cap Ireland international is midway through his second campaign with the Chiefs, scoring two tries in 34 appearances.
He follows hooker Jack Yeandle in extending his current deal until the end of the 2015/16 campaign.
The news comes on the eve of Exeter's clash with European superpowers Toulon, with the Chiefs top of their Heineken Cup pool on tries scored ahead of the French outfit.
Whitten, 26, hopes the Sandy Park outfit can start to get in the mix at the end of that competition as well as the Aviva Premiership in the coming years.
"My target for the future is to be successful with the Chiefs and I want the club to start pushing into semi-finals and latter stages of competitions," he said.
"You can see we are improving year on year, so hopefully over the next two years we can move onto that next level.
"I want to be ambitious with the team and contribute to Exeter doing well."
Whitten, who joined the Chiefs from Ulster in 2012, said he did not need much persuasion from head coach Rob Baxter to sign his new deal.
He can see good times ahead for the Sandy Park outfit.
"It was an easy decision for me," he said. "I feel I am doing well, I'm improving as a player and like where the club is going.
"The systems in place here are good ones, and I like the way we play, so I can only see success for the club and I want to be part of that."
Baxter thinks the Irishman is underrated as a player as he has filled in on the wing and in the centre during his time with Exeter.
The head coach said Whitten has become more of a threat this season, as he showed with his try in the Heineken Cup match against Cardiff Blues.
Baxter said: "I think there's a bit of a misconception with Whitts as he has done a very solid job for us but we're starting to see a bit more than that come through now.
"He's had a few games this season when he's really had a cutting edge with his pace and his power.
"We think he's improving all the time as a rugby player and decision maker and he's a good guy as well, he fits in very well in the environment here and is a popular guy among the rest of the squad. All those things add up to being important qualities for us.
"We're delighted he's signed on, we're delighted we're going to be working with him for the next couple of years and we think we'll see a good deal of improvement from a guy who's already a very good player."
Whitten has started four games in the centre this season and four on the wing, but Baxter intends to use him more in the midfield from now on.
"I think we see him more as a centre, we're looking to get the majority of his game time in the midfield now," he said. "I think that's where he's really going to push through.
"He's done very well for us in the last couple of years as we've pushed up towards the top half of the league and we're confident that at his age, ability and work ethic he'll be one of the guys who will keep Exeter improving in the future."
As for Saturday's game with Toulon, Whitten thinks the Chiefs will benefit from last year's Heineken Cup exploits.
"I think having had a couple of years in Europe we are getting better and we are getting used to the bigger occasions," he said. "We have a big one on Saturday. It's great for the club and I'm delighted to be part of it."
