New Western Australian cricket coach Justin Langer says he wants to develop his Warriors’ squad into men – on and off the field.

The former Test opener’s appointment as Warriors’ and Perth Scorchers’ head coach was confirmed on Wednesday and the gritty batsman said he was determined to turn around the state’s fortunes.

WA have made a disastrous start to the Sheffield Shield season, losing their first three games, including the opening two at the WACA Ground, and that led into the Champions League Twenty20 competition in South Africa.

The Scorchers failed to make the T20 semi-finals and the squad’s professionalism was then brought into question after a long drinking session to celebrate Mitch Marsh’s 21st birthday.

Since then, captain Marcus North has stood down, coach Lachlan Stevens has resigned and star batsman Shaun Marsh has been left out of the Shield and one-day teams.

“I am really thrilled to be taking up the position as Warriors and Scorchers head coach and feel that the energy for my work will be doubled now that I am back home with my family, my cricket friends and my personal friends,” Langer said.

“I have two main objectives. The first is to bring cricket back to life in Western Australia and the second is to help these boys become men on and off the cricket field.”

Langer was one of WA’s great Test and Shield batsmen, playing 118 first-class matches in 17 seasons and scoring 9951 runs at an average of 51.03.

He scored 29 centuries along the way and retired as the highest run-scorer for WA in first-class cricket.

For Australia, Langer played 105 Test matches, scoring 7696 runs at an average of 45.27 with 23 centuries, before retiring after the 5-0 Ashes win in the 2006/07 season.