"The short-term goal is to first get a good understanding of the girls, where they are playing, and at what level, but also for them to get to know me and my staff. This way, we can work together, keep improving, and maintain good communication," Milicic told Xinhua News Agency.

"And then if you look at the long term, we have to be ready for the Asian Cup (in 2026). We need to put ourselves in a position where we have a clear way of playing. So when the Chinese public sees the Chinese women's national team playing, they know what to expect. That's my job, to bring a modern way of playing to this team."

Milicic has assembled a squad for an eight-day training stint which will be followed by friendly matches against Australia on May 31 and June 3.

"Spending only seven or eight days together before the Australian game makes it difficult to see too much progress. However, we are working hard every day on the training field and in the video rooms," said Milicic, who was the Australian women's team coach in 2019-2020.

Milicic said a lot of hard work is required, with China PR's FIFA World Ranking having dropped to 19th.

"The ranking is something I can't control at the moment, but what I can control is the work we will do from the start of this camp, moving forward to improve it," Milicic said.

"I think part of that adjustment is to be proactive as a football team. This means we need to have more possession of the ball and utilise our technical players," Milicic added.

The Australian's major tasks will be to prepare the Steel Roses for the AFC Women's Asian Cup 2026 and FIFA Women's World Cup 2027.

Photos: AFP, Xinhua News Agency