FORMER Lyon boss Alain Perrin is out as the Chinese men’s national team coach after slightly less than two years in the job.

    The Chinese Football Association said in a statement Friday that the Frenchman was departing following discussions between both sides. The search for a replacement would begin immediately.

    The statement heaped praise on Perrin for his hard work and strict management style, and for bringing new life to a team that has been a persistent underperformer.

    However, the CFA said the decision to part ways was taken after considering the team’s needs in qualifying for the next stage of the 2018 World Cup in Russia and the “future development” of the team.

    China’s national team currently sits third in its World Cup qualifying group behind Qatar and China’s Hong Kong, against which it has only managed two draws. China’s next match is on March 24 at home against the Maldives, which it beat 3-0 in September.

    Perrin was hired in February 2015 after a lengthy search to replace Spaniard Jose Antonio Camacho, who was sacked following a humiliating 1-5 loss to Thailand. Perrin has previously coached at clubs such as Marseille, Portsmouth, Saint-Etienne and Lyon, which he led to its seventh consecutive Ligue 1 title in 2007.

    Under the Frenchman, China won all three of its group stage games in last year’s Asian Cup to reach knockout round for the first time in 11 years, before being eliminated by eventual winner Australia.

    A series of foreign coaches had been hired in hopes of sparking improvement, including England’s Bobby Houghton, Dutchman Arie Haan and Serbia’s Bora Milutinovic, who took the team to the 2002 World Cup. China is now ranked 82nd in the world, just behind Libya.(SD-Agencies)