Attempting to breathe life back into Western Australian cricket and turning the state's players from boys into men were the two main objectives outlined by Justin Langer during his unveiling as Warriors' head coach on Wednesday.
Flanked by WACA Chief Executive Christina Matthews, the former Test opener also spoke frankly about the need for a culture change in light of the recent off-field issues that have shaken his home state.
"I'm very passionate about Western Australian cricket," declared Langer. "So to be able to pursue my ambition of coaching in my home state with people I care deeply about is really exciting.
"I've got two main objectives.
"One, is to bring cricket back to life in WA.
"Looking from an outside point of view, there are a lot of people who love cricket in this state who are bleeding at the moment.
"The other objective is to help these boys to become men on and off the cricket field.
"I think if we help them develop into men, we're going to see results on the cricket field and people are going to be proud of them off the field, so that's an area we're really going to develop.
"Perception is reality," he continued.
"Whether the guys like it or not, the perception out there is that we are a bit of a shambles.
"We're on drugs and drinking and playing poor cricket, I've heard it all before.
"So is there a culture issue? Yes, it's something we've got to look at and be strong with."
And the 41-year-old was similarly forthright in revealing how he intends to meet those objectives in an attempt to resurrect the fortunes of a state which has failed to win any silverware since lifting the Sheffield Shield back in 1999.
"We've got to work hard because I've never met anyone who's been a success at anything without working hard," he said.
"We've got to speak honestly to each other because I think if you lose trust by not speaking honestly, then there's trouble.
"We've also got to celebrate success, because it's very important to reward hard work.
"And we have to earn respect back by playing hard on the cricket field and by being model citizens off the field.
"We've got some great people and great resources here in WA and I hope they are all going to get on board and help us in this vision of becoming a great cricket state."
When asked whether he has the personnel at his disposal to realise those ambitions, Langer pointed to the crop of promising youngsters coming through as a genuine cause for optimism, but ruled out any possibility of Simon Katich returning to represent his home state, at least in the four-day format.
"What I like is that we've got some terrific young guys," he said.
"We've got four kids from the Australia Under-19s this year and the current Under-19 captain.
"They are fantastic kids and I'd pick character over cover drives any day.
"We've got some good kids who are good people and some tall fast bowlers coming through as well, plus a couple of spinners.
"I think there's a very specific technique for playing here at the WACA that we have to keep developing and improving and if we can do that, we should have a massive home-ground advantage.
And on Katich, Langer said: "I don't think he'll come back permanently.
"I've spoken to him a couple of times and he will be back for the Scorchers.
"He is the kind of guy you want standing alongside you in the trenches and that's exactly what we want here, so the more we can have him involved the better."
Langer also confirmed that the Marsh brothers Shaun and Mitchell both have a future with WA despite their recent disciplinary issues, but stressed the importance of the duo buying in to the culture he is looking to instil within the playing group.
First Posted 14 November, 2012 9:11PM AEST
