🔗 Share this article

'I would say that the odds of us reviving our campaign are slimmer than Leicester winning the Premier League, so they are in our benefit, right?' Christian Fuchs is reflecting on his new life as manager of the Football League's bottom club, and the monumental task of averting a fall into non-league football. Here lies a challenge at the polar opposite of the scale, though that fairytale title win in 2016 provided him with a great deal more than a Premier League trophy. {'It contributed to shifting my perspective a little bit ... it showed that the unthinkable can be achievable,' he remarks.

'How Did Fuchs End Up Here?'

The natural place to start is: what was the journey that led Fuchs wind up here? 'That's the aspect of the story that isn't straightforward, wouldn't you say?' he says, erupting in laughter. This remark acts as the 39-year-old's introductory line and a clear demonstration of his playful character across a wide-ranging conversation. Discourse runs in different directions, from working under Thomas Tuchel and the former Leicester manager to the urgent quest to find a barber in the area.

He sorts through some correspondence on his desk. Included is a letter from a Leicester supporter sending best wishes, along with a couple of professional photographs from that season. {'Young Fuchs,' he remarks, with a smile. Another delivery brings a hoard of old collector's items, one from an album marking Euro 2016, when he captained Austria. A note from the Newport Supporters’ Club is displayed prominently. Items like this makes me very pleased,' he concludes.

A Previous Visit and a Typographical Error

Until coming back from North Carolina to assume his first job in frontline management last month, Fuchs’s last trip to Rodney Parade was in January 2019, when Leicester were on the end of a Newport giantkilling in the FA Cup third round. That day the Newport kit man duelled against Fuchs. {'He had the match of his career,' Fuchs recalls. But when the teamsheets dropped, an amusing error was discovered. {'You need to censor this,' Fuchs jokes. 'They misspelt my name – somehow a 'k' smuggled itself in in place of the 'h'. It is amusing because Fuchs, in German, means fox, so it’s something nice.'

Lessons from Claudio, Rodgers and Tuchel

His choice to join the Foxes in the summer of 2015 was inspired. A couple of weeks later Leicester brought in Claudio Ranieri and the rest is history. The Italian arrived at the club in the midst of a pre-season camp in Austria and his observational approach produced miracles. {'When you observe Claudio you envision an elder gentleman, so experienced in the game, maybe a bit traditional, but he’s so not,' Fuchs states. {'He just said he was going to observe 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 studied you for a week and I’m not going to alter anything.''

Fuchs holds dear insights gained from Rodgers and Tuchel, under whom he worked while on loan at Mainz. {'He always thought: ‘How can I get extra out of the players? How can I test them mentally?’’ Fuchs says of Tuchel. {'That’s a significant part of our approach as well. How can you make good players who choose wisely? Back then he was probably in a comparable position to where I am now … very driven, very eager to prove himself.'

Roots and a Resolute Nature

Fuchs’s drive comes from his childhood in Neunkirchen. {'There are similarities to where we are now, because I was told when I was 11 years old that I would never be good enough,' he discloses. {'There are people who let that defeat them or there are people who say: ‘Forget you, I’m going to show you.’ I’ve been told too many times: ‘You can not do this, you can't 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 pretty determined. If I see potential, I’m doing it.'

Analytical Approach and the Battle for Survival

Fuchs’s assistant, Mark Smith, was born in Newport and formerly ran Fuchs’s Fox Soccer Academy. Fuchs boots up his laptop to show statistics from a recent 2-2 draw, displaying a slide he used with his players. {'The team hit several season peaks,' he explains, noting ball progression and statistics about breaking defensive lines. Passing accuracy was shown as 87%. {'Not pleased with that … that needs to be in the mid-90s,' he insists. {'My first game, it was very long-ball, League Two football, but we want to be unique. I think a five-yard pass has a higher probability to be successful than just launching it all the time.'

The broader numbers paint 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 secured three points 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 crucial point. {'We need to be a force at home,' Fuchs stresses. {'It’s just not good enough, not even having a win. We need to construct a stronghold.'

Still a Player at Heart

By his own admission, Fuchs enjoys a challenge. {'What’s so wrong with that?' He ended his playing career less than three years ago and, like Tuchel, loves being in the thick of things. {'I’m a part of the group. I’m still a player in here,' he states, indicating his chest. {'At training I’m always participating in the drills – two pannas already, get in! I want us to regard each other as a unified group. Yes, you’re the ones on the field, but we’re one team, we’re striving towards this as one.'