China's national soccer team take a training session in Shanghai on Jan 12, 2022. (PHOTO / XINHUA)

BEIJING - Chinese players made impressive improvements when Li Tie was in charge of the national men's football team, said the goalkeeper coach Ou Chuliang.

Li was sacked midway through the final phase of FIFA 2022 World Cup qualification, even though he had brought admirable transformations to the Chinese team after taking over in early 2020, Ou told Chinese media.

It was to Li Tie's credit that the team improved much under him. Data showed that in the last phase of Asia World Cup qualifiers our players' performances were about 30 percent better than theirs in the Chinese Super League. This is really impressive, but unfortunately it went unnoticed.

Ou Chuliang, goalkeeper coach of the Chinese national men's football team

"It was to Li Tie's credit that the team improved much under him. Data showed that in the last phase of Asia World Cup qualifiers our players' performances were about 30 percent better than theirs in the Chinese Super League," Ou said.

"This is really impressive, but unfortunately it went unnoticed," he noted.

China finished fifth in Group B of Asia's final qualifying round with just one win, three draws and six defeats.

READ MORE: 'Team China deserves praise despite failed WC qualification'

Ou said the head coaches of the Chinese team, the local ones in particular, have always faced disproportionate pressure from the various sides, which made it impossible for them to work properly.

"They had to deal with pressure from the public, the media, the players and top officials," he said.

"Given what the national team are capable of now, it's unrealistic to expect them to perform well in major tournaments. But the public has higher expectations for them, and this may lead to misunderstanding between them," added the former Chinese international.

ALSO READ: Coach Li asks players to 'cherish' last WC qualifier against Oman

Ou called for a methodical approach to be taken to develop Chinese football.

"We need to do all the things step by step, and it will work over time. If we keep wavering, starting over and disregarding the fundamentals, we'll never advance beyond the starting line," he said. 

China has played in the World Cup finals only once before.