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Former Manchester City defender Sun Jihai has questioned Gao Hongbo's commitment and spirit after the coach quit at the helm of the China national team earlier this week. Gao's decision to resign from the post came following a 2-0 loss against Uzbekistan in the final phase of qualifying for the World Cup finals in Russia on Tuesday and was confirmed by the Chinese Football Association in a statement on Thursday. China sit at the bottom of their six-team qualifying group from which the top two qualify automatically for Russia, with the team having picked up just one point from the past four games. Sun, who represented China at the country's only World Cup finals in 2002, suggested not even the best coaches in the world could take China to the finals in Russia, but that Gao's decision to stand down was disappointing. "To quit the job like this, I don't think it's taking responsibility," said Sun. "On the contrary, he's walking away. When you accept the job, you should also build a sense of risk and responsibility. I don't think he has a big heart, or at least not one that's strong enough. "From a professional point of view, I didn't see the tactical thought behind his team throughout the last four matches. These players grew up in the most unstable age of Chinese football and no one in China is better than them at football. But how do we push them to exceed themselves? "Of course, the best coach in the world probably couldn't manage to lead this team to qualify from this stage. Honestly, with these players and their abilities we should have done better in these last four matches." Chinese media has started to speculate over who will replace Gao, with Fu Bo a contender to take over on an interim basis for next month's meeting with fellow strugglers Qatar in Kunming. Shanghai Shenhua coach Gregorio Manzano and former Guangzhou Evergrande coach Marcello Lippi have been put forward as candidates. Sun stressed the need for the new coach to have knowledge of the domestic game and be able to implement a system that is suitable for Chinese players. "We need coaches who understand Chinese football," said Sun. "We should also develop an efficient process when we are selecting coaches. "The head coach must have a solid tactical system of his own and his football style should match this and stay consistent. In the meantime, the selection of the squad can vary from game to game, but not in an extreme way. We must fine tune it within a basic framework."
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