MIKE Gregory still has a 'soft spot' for Warrington despite sinking them to reach the Challenge Cup final as head coach of Wigan.

Gregory was the skipper of Warrington against Wigan in their last Challenge Cup final appearance in 1990 and he is Warrington's most capped Great Britain player of all time.

After Sunday's semi-final victory Gregory said: "I always look out for Warrington scores. I was with the club for a third of my life and it does mean something.

"I wish Warrington all the best in Super League. But when it comes to work, it's all been about what we do at Wigan and not what Warrington do.

"But I've no doubt Warrington will be a top six team again this season.

"To be honest, with the ball in hand I think Warrington were the better of the two teams in Sunday's semi-final. Defensively we were magnificent and when people say defence wins matches, that showed on Sunday.

"Warrington are a great team. They challenged us in every department. They play great football but I do think when it comes to the crunch it is about taking your chances.

"And with the little field position we had in the first half against Warrington, we took our chances. And you can't beat pace. Brett Dallas has pace and strength and with his three tries he won the game for us."

Wolves' head coach Paul Cullen, who regularly packed down in primrose and blue with Gregory, said: "Against Wigan I was very happy with our shape and structure, our technique and tactics. We are moving in the right direction at a rate of knots but unfortunately I had too much firepower sat in the stand on Sunday to exploit the chances that we created.

"To gift Wigan 18 points in the way that we did and to lose by less than that amount is very hard to take but a very sobering thought."