England head coach Brendon McCullum had attributed his team’s defeat in the second Ashes Test against Australia at Gabba to “too much training”, stressing the need for players to be physically and mentally fresh for crucial decisions during matches.

Ahead of the third Test at the Adelaide Oval, McCullum clarified his viral remark, insisting it was meant to protect the dressing room and that internal messages can sound different in public.

"Yeah, there's a couple of elements to it," McCullum said in the pre-match presser. "First of all, what you're saying to your dressing room is you're trying to evaluate where the team's at, at the end of a Test match, and at the end of a loss knowing that you have nine days before you need to go back out into the arena. So the messages to the guys are always a matter of trying to shift the focus forward as well.

"You're trying to shift it forward so that your confidence levels don't dip. Because when they do you have no chance. Absolutely no chance. So what you say to them and then what you say in the media can be quite different."

McCullum reiterated that the "overprepared" comment was never a criticism of his players but a conscious attempt to shoulder responsibility himself.

"You need to be mentally fresh. You need to be physically fresh. And five intense training sessions on the back of a difficult loss [in Perth] I don't think necessarily gave us our best chance," he said. "And I'll wear that. I'm happy to wear that as leader. It's best if the focus is on me not the others."

The England coach touched upon the phrase once again, stressing that intensity alone does not guarantee results, especially in Australian conditions.

"In terms of being over prepared, it's not about working the hardest. Working the hardest doesn't guarantee you success. Working the longest doesn't guarantee you success," McCullum said. "What I meant by us being over prepared is we had five intense training sessions. In my opinion we almost left ourselves a fraction short in terms of our energy and our ability to play what was in front of us, which on that wicket required quite a different game to necessarily what your training needs."

"You have to think on your feet. You have to be able to manoeuvre your game. You have to be able to identify risk," McCullum explained. "If you over prepare or you over train based on how many balls you hit on a true surface it can leave you a little bit ill prepared in that moment. There is no perfect preparation That's not how it works but for me I think you need an edge about when you enter a game."

Asked whether his own position would come under scrutiny if England failed to stage a comeback, McCullum replied: "I don't know, but it doesn't really bother me to be honest. You have conviction in what you're doing and whatever happens, happens. I certainly don't coach to protect a job. I coach to get the best out of people and that's the same with the skipper."

Despite trailing 0-2 in the five-match series, McCullum insisted belief inside the dressing room remained intact and called the upcoming Adelaide Test an opportunity to reset.

"Now, if anything, we just need to chisel away at some of the things we haven't got quite right, this is probably more attuned to our best style of cricket," he said. "Yeah, of course, the fact we're 2-0 down, we've made it harder on ourselves but that won't stop the belief that you have within the dressing room.

"The conditions here at Adelaide are going to be quite different. [We need to] just be a little more calculated when we get the opportunity to be able to put the foot on the throat."

McCullum was candid in his assessment as he reflected on England's performances so far.

"I don't think we've been anywhere near our best so far. What's been has been," he said. "For us now it's not a matter of fighting the war that's been, it's focusing on the one that's coming."

He emphasized that England would not do away with their broader philosophy despite suffering eight-wicket defeats in first two Tests.

"We'll remain committed to what we're doing. I firmly believe if we play our best cricket, we have a massive chance in this Test match," McCullum said. "If we do that, then the narrative changes and the series momentum changes but it's all in front of us to achieve in the next few days."