Lee glee as Warrington Wolves cheer up old boss and friend Cullen

Updated: 14:13 EST, 8 August 2008

By Chris Wheeler

Until a chance meeting at the gym earlier this week, the last time Lee Briers saw Paul Cullen was more than two months ago as Warrington's beleaguered boss left the dressing room for the last time.

A disastrous home defeat at the hands of Castleford signalled the end for Super League's longest serving coach and a parting of the ways confirmed Cullen's six-year stint at the helm was over.

No one was more disappointed to see him go than Briers, the 30-year-old half back once described by Cullen as 'the cleverest player in Super League bar none'.

Warrington's Lee Briers (left) is still in contact with his old coach Paul Cullen

No one was quicker to defend the coach or blame himself and the rest of the players for letting him down. 'I'd been with him for quite a long time so it was tough personally,' said Briers.

'We had to get over it for the sake of the team and Paul would have wanted that as well.

'We've spoken on the phone since but it was only the other day that we had a coffee and a chat. It wasn't a planned meeting. I bumped into him so we decided to have a catch-up. It was different to him being my coach, this time it was as friends.'

Presumably the conversation turned to Warrington's form since Cullen's assistant Jimmy Lowes took over at the end of May.

Seven wins from the last eight games have catapulted Super League's great under-achievers to within sight of third spot and well placed to claim a home draw in the play-offs. So would it have happened under Cullen if the Wolves had given him more time?

'You'd like to think so but it's all ifs and buts,' said Briers. 'If I knew that I'd do the Lottery every week. We always knew we had it in us. It has just taken longer than we anticipated to get where we are.

'But Jimmy's his own man and has brought his own things to the team that seem to be working. Fair play to him, it's going well.' Warrington could not face a tougher challenge than Saturday nights trip to St Helens, a side they last beat seven years ago.

In fact, they have never won at Knowsley Road in the Super League era and Saints' 17-game winning run - including two wins over Warrington already this season -suggests the trend is not about to change.

'We're playing some really good rugby at the moment but just when we seem to be getting close, they give us a hiding,' said Briers, who also coaches the St Helens Wild Boars amateur team and grew up in a house across from Knowsley Road.

He used to climb over the fence with his dad to watch Saints and fulfilled a boyhood dream at the age of 16 when he signed his first professional contract, earning £30 a game.

'It's all I wanted to do in my life and I signed for more or less nothing,' he added. 'My mum and dad keep a scrapbook and they've still got a photo of me signing.'

A lack of first-team opportunities took Briers in 1997 to Warrington - where Cullen had just moved on to the coaching staff - and over the last decade he has been acclaimed as one of the most dynamic half backs in the League despite winning just one Great Britain cap.

The decision to quit playing for Wales in the hope of prolonging his club career is not the only weight off Briers' shoulders this season.

The man who once kicked a record 14 goals in one match has handed those duties to Chris Hicks, while Warrington's other new Australian signing, Michael Monaghan, has taken on some of the playmaking responsibilities.

'I hope I've got at least two, maybe three years in me,' said Briers. 'I'm contracted for another year but you never know what's around the corner - maybe Warrington don't see me in their plans for the next three years.

'We've not yet talked about a new deal but after what's gone on this year I don't think I'm the priority.'

It is 17 years since Warrington won a trophy of any description, and the chances of ending a turbulent season as champions for the first time in more than half a century are slim.

But if it were to happen, Cullen can expect a call from his old lieutenant. 'Without a doubt,' said Briers.

'He laid the foundations. But what happened with Paul is a long way away. It's a new era for the club and time to move on.'