The rare controversial period in New Zealand cricket which saw Ross Taylor being axed as captain in 2012, the then coach Mike Hesson says, was the "toughest" of his stint with the Black Caps. 

Taylor decided to contentiously step aside as skipper in all formats after Hesson asked him to hand over the reigns in limited-overs cricket to Brendon McCullum. 

Read Also: Brendon McCullum remembers disappointing fall-out with teammate Ross Taylor

"It was definitely the toughest time of my coaching career," Hesson was quoted as saying by stuff.co.nz on Sky Sports' 'The Pod'.

"I keep going back to the reasons why I coach and many times I ask myself at night – am I making the decision for the right reasons...because I think it's going to make the team better?" he added.

Hesson, though, admitted he could've handled the whole thing better. "It was a really untidy time," he said. "But I don't regret the decision, (though) I certainly regret the fallout from it and the way people felt throughout it."

"I have a lot of empathy for what Ross went through and it was a really difficult time for the whole team. And we also had people within the environment being a little bit snakey around it as well in terms of trying to play both sides," Hesson revealed.

"I still think it was the right decision. Could it have been done better? Of course, it could have (been)."

Hesson was also at the receiving end of the public outcry over his decision, especially the timing of it, coming straight after a rare Test match win in Sri Lanka. 

"I had hate mail pout in the door. I had faeces put on my front door at my house. It was a pretty horrible time and all I was trying to do was what I thought was right for the cricket team at the time," he said.

"There were a number of people who didn't know many facts, who didn't know either Ross or myself, who were very opinionated about things...It was what I felt we needed to do to move the team forward."

McCullum took over and oversaw one of the most successful phases in New Zealand history in Test cricket and also the surge to the 2015 World Cup final. 

"We saw him as a cool, calm head...he certainly wouldn't let the game drift and would be quite proactive in terms of his approach. He was also able to get that 'follow-me' mentality," Hesson said. 

"I thought he was the only person at the time that could have done that with the group of players we had."

In 2018, two after years McCullum's international retirement, Hesson quit as coach, wanting to spend more time with his family. 

"It was far from easy," he said of the decision. "I had a really supportive wife who was very understanding and I had two young kids and had come to a point in time where you have to go 'enough is enough, they've sacrificed enough'."

"I'd run out of gas and certainly my family felt I should be at home more – and rightfully so," added Hesson, who is now the director of cricket for IPL franchise Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), a less taxing job.