The headlines and public discontent are clearly getting to Langer and a loss to Sri Lanka would only sharpen the knives.
“It’s relentless,” he said. “Matty Wade is a good example. I watched him play last night, he played brilliantly well. He’s played fantastic and he’s going great guns in first-class cricket and I feel like giving him a hug. I’ve been in his shoes. It’s really hard. It’s playing out in the media. It’s more my style not to play out things in the media and more to have quiet conversations.
“I think I got a bit grumpy with a journo in Sydney [at a press conference] because he kept hounding me about Maxy’s [Glenn Maxwell's] non-selection in the Australian A tour about 12 months ago. We’re getting completely smashed by some journos and I think I just looked at him, I didn’t say much.
"I’m human, we’re all human. [There are] challenges but I wouldn’t be doing anything different. I’m a very lucky person to be in this privileged position but it is a tough gig."