Nearing the end of his football career, Cheng was offered the chance to manage
Shanghai COSCO Huili during the
2003 league season where he replaced
Claude Le Roy and surprised many when he was able to steer them second in the league in his debut season and only one point off from the league title. The following season would see the club finish third within the league, however despite this the club could not continue to financially compete with local rivals Shanghai Shenhua and by the 2006 league season the club would move to
Xi'an,
Shaanxi and eventually change their name to
Shaanxi Chanba. While Cheng would move with the club he was unable to replicate the same success he initially had and with the club being prudent in their spending he was only able to guide the club into mid-table positions for the next several seasons. This was halted for a short time when he guided the club to fifth in the
2008 league season, however on 28 August 2009, he surprisingly resigned after a 1–0 away win against the past
Shanghai derby rivals
Shanghai Shenhua, citing health problem and desire of studying abroad as reasons. While many among the public and media believed that due to his ties towards Shenhua, Cheng was seeking the possibility of replacing their coach
Jia Xiuquan, however Shenhua decided to go with the experienced manager
Miroslav Blažević and Cheng would return to Shanghai with third-tier club
Shanghai Zobon at the beginning of the 2011 league season. ==Honours==