In May 2016, the 41 year-old Englishman was installed as manager of Shanghai Shenxin. At the time, the club found themselves wallowing in the relegation zone of the country's second tier, but White was able to guide them to a 10th-place finish.

After the season ended, he parted ways with the club.

White -- who made the shortlist for the England U21s job in January -- recently sat down with ESPN FC to talk about his experience.

How did you end up in China?

GW: They headhunted me for the job because of the success I had with Guam. They had been relegated from the Chinese Super League the season before. The first season in the second league was a struggle for them. It was a tough one because I had the stability by Guam but I wanted to break into club football. I took the risk and I am glad I did because it was a fantastic experience.

How was the situation when you came in?

GW: Relegation would have been a nightmare for such a big club. There are no foreign players in the third tier so they would have lost all that investment and the club really wanted to survive. They had invested millions in a new training centre that is world-class.

What were your first impressions?

GW: I came into a club that had played 12 games but had just nine points. It was not just the results that were poor but the environment too. It was a losing environment and it was something I had to change. My first target was the Chinese players. They are, after all, the majority of the staff.

One of the problems was the disconnect with the Chinese players and the foreign players. I tried to bring them together. I remember one day in the first week at the club. There was a real issue among the players. I locked us all in the video analysis room and I told them we are not leaving until we are on the same page. I threw down boxing gloves and said that they could go for it if they wanted but we are leaving this room as one team, as a Shanghai Shenxin family. That was a turning point and the players started to play for each other. We finished with 40 points and in the top 10. We finished with 54 goals, the second highest in the league.

How were the standards in the second division?

GW: It was very competitive. Every week, we played against famous players. We played Fabio Cannavaro's team and beat them 3-2 and they had Luis Fabiano, everywhere there were superstars. The Chinese players were developing and it was a good standard and very competitive. There was not much between the top teams and the bottom teams.

Is the Chinese Super League seen as the promised land?

GW: Absolutely. I was told that the 2016 season was the most exposure that the second tier had ever had. There is so much desire to get to the Chinese Super League. Games were live on TV for the first time and it was big news. And this has now filtered down to the third level as the second level has got more interesting for media, sponsors and fans.

How were your dealings with the people in charge?

GW: The club was a little unusual as it was run by a single owner. He is completely in charge. It is his baby. He created the club, the logo -- everything. It can be difficult working with someone who is so involved. It is good and bad. He has the same passion as you but also has a say in what goes on. It was an interesting scenario and a lesson on how to manage upward as well as to manage the team.

There was constant asking about starting line-ups. He is very dedicated to the club and brought me in when they were in a real mess and he was perhaps panicking a little. He was overbearing perhaps with certain aspects of player selection and it was good for me to deal with it.

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How were the fans?

GW: The fans were very passionate. After our first home win, I went to the fans with the players and we thanked the fans. The press said they had never seen a foreign coach do that. The week after we had Union Jacks in the crowd and posters of myself and the players. We really connected and always thanked them for their attendance.

They helped us stay up. We had about 11,000 in our first home game in a 30,000 all-seater stadium -- it is one of only four soccer specific stadiums in China and had no running track. We never filled it but we got close against the big teams.

How were the Chinese players?

GW: The standard of Chinese players is higher than ever before. If you only look at the national team then there is obviously a disconnect, the team should be higher in the rankings than they are. I looked at my players, and compared them to Guam who were competing against Asian teams, and I thought they could do the job. Guam drew 0-0 with Hong Kong and so did China. When you look at the population and resource difference, that should not be happening.

Away travel must have been interesting?

GW: Sometimes you have five hours of flying time and that gives the coach a challenge. You go on Thursday, have training in the stadium on Friday and play on Saturday. The big cities are fine with the 5-star hotels but some of the smaller places can be tough. In Dalian away, we had players throwing up before the game and then I turned around and the team doctor was doing the same. There is a big difference between the big international cities like Shanghai and some of the others. But the diet was good at Shanghai. The coach before was Korean and did a good job. The players live together and train and ate every meal together.

Why did you leave?

GW: As the transfer window for the new season opened, I was told there was no money. Going to the Chinese Super League takes so much investment. You get a lot when you get in but to buy the likes of Carlos Tevez, Oscar and the rest then huge money is needed. The market for Chinese players has also inflated greatly.

The club wanted to sell for a while and then see where they were. I didn't want that. I wanted to win things and believed we could do it. We clashed over this and the contract was not renewed but it was all amicable and I wish them well.