Embattled coach Justin Langer on Monday insisted the Australian cricket team was "in a better place" after clear-the-air talks with senior players following discontent over his management style.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Langer came under intense scrutiny in the wake of recent consecutive white-ball series losses to the West Indies and Bangladesh, with friction over his intense leadership and mood swings again resurfacing.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
It sparked an emergency meeting with Test skipper Tim Paine, his deputy Pat Cummins, limited-overs captain Aaron Finch and Cricket Australia executives.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Langer admitted it had been a "tough" time personally, but said he had learned from the experience, drawing on the darkest moments in his playing career as a parallel.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"I look back at 1993, 1998, and 2001 when I was dropped from the Australian team," he told the West Australian newspaper as he aimed to reset ahead of the upcoming T20 World Cup and a home Ashes series against England.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"I was devastated when they happened and thought they were amongst the worst times in my life."<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"Yet I look back on them now and realise that those experiences, as gutting as they were at the time, made me stronger and better as a player," he added.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"The situation at the moment is very tough but I am confident that I will become a better coach from it."<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Both Paine and Cricket Australia chief Nick Hockley have publicly backed Langer, who revealed he had held candid conversations with select players in which numerous issues were aired.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"We all got a lot off our chests," he said. "I think we are all in a better place now."<\/p>\r\n\r\n
While Langer has been widely praised for restoring the culture of the Australian team after the 2018 "Sandpaper-gate" scandal in South Africa, rumours of dressing-room friction have never been far away.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
He was forced to address negative feedback earlier this year when discontent surfaced about his "headmaster-like" leadership. Langer said criticism came with not winning.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"When you win, everyone is happy and gets on with things but when you are losing, that is when the finger-pointing starts and people look for excuses," he said.<\/p>\r\n\r\n