The former Australia head coach felt he lost the support of players and staff towards the end of his tenure and said he failed to delegate his responsibilities properly
Justin Langer has taken a swipe at Cricket Australia after documenting the fall-out from his departure as head coach earlier in the year.
After being offered a derisory six-month contract extension, in the wake of guiding Australia men to T20 World Cup glory and an Ashes series win, Langer resigned stating it was in the best interests of the team to move on without him.
Ricky Ponting and Adam Gilchrist have since publicly criticised the process, which included CA being unable to offer a long deal due to concerns among players regarding his hard-line management style.
Speaking at a Chamber of Commerce and Industry WA event in Perth, the 51-year-old revealed an exchange with CA chair Richard Freudenstein which highlighted one of his main frustrations with the governing body.
"The first thing he said to me was: 'It must make you feel so good that all your mates are supporting you in the media,'" he said.
"I said, 'Yeah it is, acting chairman, but with all due respect, those mates are also the all-time greats of Australian cricket. They are the fabric of Australian cricket. They are Australian cricket. They also work all around the world in cricket. So yeah, I'm glad my mates are looking after me. Imagine if you had have'.
Langer believes he lost the support of the players towards the end of his tenure (Robert Cianflone/Getty Images)
"Ironically, the last six months of my coaching career were the most enjoyable period of 12 years of coaching.
"Not only did we win everything, but I had energy, and I had focus, and I was happy - besides the bulls*** politics."
Central to Langer's departure was the fraying of the relationship with players, who had reportedly criticised him across two reviews following the 2-1 series defeat to India.
Langer says that dissatisfaction with his methods meant he felt "lonely" trying to lead Australia, knowing the dressing room wasn't fully behind him.
"If you know people have got your back, you can achieve miracles," Langer said. "If they haven't, it's a very lonely place.
"Leadership can be very, very lonely. But it's not lonely when you know people have got your back."
Langer says he never spoke to England about taking over as head coach (David Gray/Getty Images)
The former Western Australia and Perth Scorchers coach has looked inwardly since his departure and admits he failed to manage his workload or delegate responsibility properly
"For three or four years I was concentrating on the politics, the media, the sponsorship; I was trying to do everything - I was trying to be everything to everyone," Langer added.
"It's no wonder you get tired. It's no wonder your health suffers; your mental, your physical health. You're trying to please everybody.
"The great lesson I learned was…I cleared my desk, and all of a sudden instead of having everything on my table, I had two things on my desk. One was winning and the second thing was my people."
Prior to installing Chris Silverwood as head coach, Sri Lanka made their interest in approaching Langer public while then England interim managing director Andrew Strauss was also an interested party, before Brendon McCullum and Matthew Mott were appointed.
"I've never spoken to English cricket," Langer admitted. "The thought of coaching England (shakes head)...mate!"
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