Hong Kong will not be looking for a leading club manager, but rather someone with a strong background in coach education as candidates for the national team manager arrive for interviews this week.
Rather than a 'quick fix' candidate, it is believed someone with the qualities to help shape the foundation of the sport in Hong Kong will be given preference.
'Even if we bring in a top club coach, it will be difficult for him to make overnight improvements of the Hong Kong team because of the current standard of our players. We all know there is no quick fix,' said Hong Kong Football Association chairman Brain Leung Hung-tak (pictured), who heads a five-member panel for the selection process.
'Many of the famous club coaches have good connections so they can buy good players to strengthen club sides, but this is not the case for Hong Kong.
'We, instead, need a coach who has deep knowledge of the sport and can pass his skills and experience to local coaches in order to lay down a strong foundation for overall soccer development in Hong Kong, from the grass roots to international level.
'Once that foundation has been built, our game standard can improve level by level and in the end benefit the Hong Kong team.'
