🔗 Share this article

'I would say that the odds of us reviving our campaign are less than Leicester winning the Premier League, so they are in our favor, right?' Christian Fuchs is reflecting on his fresh chapter as manager of Newport County, and the daunting task of staving off a drop into non-league football. It is a challenge at the complete other end of the scale, though that unbelievable title win in 2016 gave him far more than a winner's medal. {'It helped change my perspective a little bit ... it proved that the unthinkable can be possible,' he remarks.

'How Did Fuchs Find Himself Here?'

The natural place to start is: what was the journey that led Fuchs find himself here? 'I guess that's the part that's not logical, right?' he says, letting out a laugh. It is the 39-year-old's opening gambit and a clear indication of his playful character across a colourful conversation. The discussion travels in various tangents, from working under the current England boss and the former Leicester manager to the urgent quest to find a barber in the area.

He opens some post on his desk. There is a message from a Leicester supporter wishing him well, along with a couple of professional photographs from that memorable year. {'Young Fuchs,' he remarks, grinning. Another package brings a hoard of old Panini stickers, one from an album marking Euro 2016, when he skippered Austria. A note from the Newport Supporters’ Club is displayed prominently. Things like this really makes me very pleased,' he concludes.

A Previous Visit and a Misspelt Name

Until his move back from North Carolina to take on his first job in senior management last month, Fuchs’s previous visit to Rodney Parade was in January 2019, when Leicester were on the end of a Newport cupset in the FA Cup third round. During that match David Pipe competed with Fuchs. {'He had the match of his career,' Fuchs recalls. But when the lineup cards were released, an amusing error came to light. {'You need to edit this,' Fuchs jokes. 'They misspelt my name – somehow a 'k' crept in in place of the 'h'. It is funny because Fuchs, in German, means fox, so it’s something nice.'

Experiences from Claudio, Rodgers and Tuchel

His choice to join the Foxes in the summer of 2015 proved a masterstroke. A couple of weeks later Leicester appointed Claudio Ranieri and the rest is history. The Italian arrived at the club in the middle of a pre-season camp in Austria and his hands-off approach worked wonders. {'When you observe Claudio you envision an elder gentleman, so a veteran of the sport, maybe a bit old school, but he’s the complete opposite,' Fuchs explains. {'He just said he was going to watch training in Austria for the first week. He stayed out of it at all. After that week we had a meeting and he said: 'I’ve watched you for a week and I’m not going to change anything.''

Fuchs holds dear experiences from Rodgers and Tuchel, under whom he worked while on loan at Mainz. {'He always considered: ‘How can I get additional out of the players? How can I push them mentally?’’ Fuchs says of Tuchel. {'That’s a significant part of our methodology as well. How can you make good decision-makers? Back then he was probably in a similar situation to where I am now … very driven, very keen to prove himself.'

Roots and a Resolute Character

Fuchs’s drive stems from his early years in Neunkirchen. {'There are parallels to where we are now, because I was told when I was 11 years old that I would never be good enough,' he reveals. {'There are people who let that get the better of them or there are people who say: ‘Forget you, I’m going to show you.’ I’ve been told too many times: ‘You cannot do this, you can not do that.’ I’m going to prove that I can and work my socks off. The other thing about my make-up is: I’m quite stubborn. If I see potential, I’m doing it.'

Analytical Approach and the Fight for Survival

Fuchs’s assistant, Mark Smith, was born in Newport and had been in charge of Fuchs’s Fox Soccer Academy. Fuchs fires up his laptop to show data from a recent 2-2 draw, sharing a slide he used with his players. {'The team hit several season bests,' he explains, highlighting ball progression and statistics about getting behind defensive lines. Passing accuracy was logged at 87%. {'Not happy with that … that needs to be in the mid-90s,' he declares. {'My first game, it was very physical, lower-league football, but we want to be unique. I think a five-yard pass has a higher chance to find its target than just launching it all the time.'

The broader numbers present grim reading. Newport have secured three of 19 league matches and are yet to win in eight in all competitions. By the time of their next home game, they will have not tasted victory at home for 273 days and have kept just two clean sheets in 26 matches this season. But a recent 93rd-minute equaliser with 10 men earned a valuable point. {'We need to be a power at home,' Fuchs emphasizes. {'It’s just not satisfactory, not even having a win. We need to construct a fortress.'

One of the Lads at Heart

By his own confession, Fuchs relishes a challenge. {'What’s so wrong with that?' He hung up his boots less than three years ago and, like Tuchel, loves being in the heart of the battle. {'I’m a component of the group. I’m still a player at heart,' he states, tapping his chest. {'At training I’m always participating in the small-sided games – two nutmegs already, yes! I want us to regard each other as a single unit. Yes, you’re the ones on the field, but we’re all in this together, we’re striving towards this collectively.'