Justin has done a terrific job over the last couple of years, claims Steve Smith
Steve Smith has backed an underfire Justin Langer and stated that the Australian coach always pushes the players to get the best out of them which has worked wonders in the last couple of years. Recently, there were reports that few Australian players were not happy about Langer's intense approach.
After Australia suffer a shambolic 2-1 loss to a depleted Indian side, the dressing room was not a happy place to be. Anyone with the slightest understanding of Justin Langer's managerial style, it was a confirmed notion that he was really grumpy which came through a report on the Sydney Morning Herald.Ā The publicationĀ reported that a few players were not happy with Langer's intense approach and repeated intervention during the game, which Langer denied first.
However, he has got the support of Tim Paine first and now Steve Smith who stated that Langer has his full-backing especially after what he has done over the last few years. Smith further stated that Langer always wants the best from his Australian cricketers.
"I think even if you speak to Justin, you want to be improving all the time as a coach or as a player, so of course there are things you can always get better at," Smith said in an online press conference.
"One thing that hasn't been spoken a lot about is how tough a job it is to coach an international team, particularly in the circumstances we've been in when we've been in bubbles for long periods of time.
"But Justin's always working hard, trying to improve and get better and we've had conversations over the last two weeks since we've finished and he's always trying to get better and better and that's all you can ask from your coach."
Smith has been the fulcrum of the Test side for over half a decade now and one of the major reasons behind the same is his own unique approach and technique. With a homegrown technique, he has conquered the world and he admitted that Langer has given him a free hand to experiment.
"Justin's actually said about me before he doesn't try and coach me too much. Only every now and again he'll say something particularly about the energy in my legs and tell me to have a bit more energy and that helps me move my feet a bit better and get going. He kind of just lets me go about my business and do what I need to do.
"But he's great around the group, he's always improving and wants to get better and wants the feedback from the players, and I think that's really important as a coach. And sometimes it can be difficult to get that feedback. You always want to get better, you always want to learn on the job and I think he does that as well as anyone," he added.