The Baggies head into the festive period on 30 points and lying sixth in the Barclays Premier League after Clarke's first half-season in charge at the Hawthorns.
A 2-1 home win over Norwich ended a four-game sequence without a win and Clarke believes Albion have "a great platform" to build on in 2013.
The former Chelsea number two said: "I said to the players after the game that they can be really pleased with their efforts.
"To be sitting on 30 points before the halfway stage is a good achievement for them. We can use that as a springboard and an inspiration to do even better during the second half of the season.
"It has given us a great platform to build on for 2013 and we will give everything in the remaining games to complete the job we have started."
Clarke added: "Although our recent performances have lacked the spark of games earlier in the season, there is still a lot to be pleased with.
"We have managed to set very high standards as a group right from day one and have only very rarely and briefly dropped away from them.
"What has been achieved represents a good return for nearly six months of hard work put in by the players since returning for pre-season."
