Take the case of China's men's volleyball team.

Compared to the women's team, who are the reigning Olympic champions, the men's team has not even won the Asian Championship since 1999.

China men's volleyball team head coach Zhou Jianan.[FIVB]

This suits head coach Zhou Jianan just fine.

"I like to be in such a situation," says Zhou.

"There is a big distance between the men's team and the women's team in China. The women's team has enjoyed a lot of success and the media and the public pay much attention to their results.

"The men's team is at a lower level and has not had the same success as the women's team.

"On the other hand, this is a good environment for the men's team to improve. We have a lot of work to do and can take it step by step out of the public eye.

"We can work smoothly without the media and the public watching our every move and knowing everything about us. This is helpful for the men's team to train and grow."

Despite winning only one of their three Pool A games so far, China have impressed with their speed, energy, spirit, attacking power and customary agile defence.

This is exactly what head coach Zhou, a former setter and captain of the national team, is trying to achieve for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.

The women's team will be under pressure to retain the gold medal they won in Athens in 2004, and anything less will be regarded as a failure, whereas Zhou has set a modest target of a top-eight finish for the men's team, who will be playing in their first Olympics since 1984.

"It is not just the final ranking I am thinking about," adds Zhou.

"I want us to play at a level that will keep us in the top eight long after the Olympic Games. I want us to reach a level that can remain stable. That is my dream.

"There is more pressure on the head coach of the women's team (Chen Zhonghe) to get the gold medal than there is on me, but I also have heavy pressure because we are the host team. This is a different kind of pressure.

"The Chinese public will be paying attention to all their teams, but we are not at the top level so it is impossible to get a medal. But they will want us to show our energy, and show the characteristics and qualities of the Chinese man."

Zhou, who took over as head coach in March, is satisfied with his team's performances in the World Championships, which have included a 17-15 tie-break defeat to Argentina.

"Before, when we played a team like Argentina, we had no chance to win, but this time we created good opportunities to win that game. We could not do it because the players are not very experienced and our team was not coordinated.

"Our team has just come together within a short time this year, so there is still a lot of work to do on the details of the skills, technique and tactics."

Whatever the outcome of Pool A, China look to be well on their way to achieving the new coach's goal - even if that does not mean a medal in 2008.