Smith and Labuschagne managed 35 runs in between them in Edgbaston Test.
Australia leads the five-Test series 1-0 after a hard-fought 2-wicket win in Edgbaston, in which both Smith (16 and 6) and Labuschagne (0 and 13) failed to contribute to the side.
McDonald said it was “very rare” for Smith and Labuschagne to misfire in the same test match.
“They’re disappointed they missed out in this game, but I think any time the Australian cricket team can win without those two performing at high level is always a positive. We’ve got some areas we can improve, there’s some growth within the team and there’s two obvious ones,” McDonald told media.
Australia’s coaching staff will be there to offer advice but McDonald expects the pair to work out their own solutions in net sessions.
“I think there’s always a curiosity to get better, so we’re not going to stall that in any way. They’ll come up with different plans, different movements. They’ve seen what England are going to do and how they’re going to attack them. They’re probably two of the greatest problem-solvers we’ve had over a period of time so you would expect them to go back to the drawing board.
(Batting coach) Michael Di Venuto will be part of that process. They’ll come out pretty clear what they need to do next innings. But there’s no issue there,” McDonald added.
(Reuters inputs)