BEIJING - Newly-appointed Hebei China Fortune head coach Xie Feng is hoping for an improvement on last season's 11th place finish in the Chinese Super League.

Having taken over as caretaker head coach following the sacking of Chris Coleman in May 2019, Hebei announced on Thursday that Xie had been appointed to the position on a permanent basis.

"This is the first time that I have led the team for the full winter pre-season training period as head coach," Xie told Xinhua. "The players are all working very hard. I hope we can improve on the defensive side and achieve a better position than last season."

At the time of Coleman's sacking, Hebei were languishing in 15th place in the 16-team CSL with just five points from nine games, though Xie subsequently steered the team away from the relegation zone and into mid-table by the end of the season, ultimately finishing with 33 points.

After no fewer than six spells as caretaker coach of several Chinese sides, this is Xie's first appointment as permanent head coach. Praising his players' tenacity, the 54-year-old added that he hoped last season's successful fight against relegation would make his side mentally stronger in 2020.

Hebei spent much of the winter off-season training in Hainan and Japan. With the start of the 2020 CSL season suspended indefinitely due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, Xie noted that his charges will aim to keep improving their technique and physical fitness until play resumes.