🔗 Share this article

'I estimate that the odds of us reviving our campaign are less than Leicester winning the Premier League, so they are in our benefit, right?' Christian Fuchs is talking about his new life as manager of Newport County, and the immense task of preventing a descent into non-league football. Here lies a challenge at the polar opposite of the spectrum, though that fairytale title win in 2016 gave him a great deal more than a winner's medal. {'It assisted in altering my mindset a little bit ... it demonstrated that the impossible can be attainable,' he states.

The Illogical Path to Rodney Parade

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 states, breaking into laughter. This serves as the 39-year-old's initial statement and a clear indication of his engaging character across a wide-ranging conversation. Discourse travels in various tangents, from working under the current England boss and Brendan Rodgers to the urgent quest to find a nearby hairdresser.

He opens some post on his desk. Included is a message from a Leicester supporter sending best wishes, paired with a couple of professional photographs from that memorable year. {'Young Fuchs,' he remarks, smiling. Another delivery brings a collection of old stickers, one from an album commemorating Euro 2016, when he captained Austria. A greeting from the Newport Supporters’ Club has pride of place. Things like this really makes me very content,' he adds.

A Previous Visit and a Funny Mistake

Prior to his move back from North Carolina to assume his first job in frontline management last month, Fuchs’s previous visit to Rodney Parade was in January 2019, when Leicester suffered a Newport cupset in the FA Cup third round. On that occasion the Newport kit man faced off against Fuchs. {'He had the performance of his life,' Fuchs recalls. But when the lineup cards came out, an amusing error emerged. {'You need to redact this,' Fuchs remarks. 'They misspelt my name – somehow a 'k' crept in in place of the 'h'. It is hilarious because Fuchs, in German, means fox, so it’s something fitting.'

Insights from The Tinkerman, Rodgers and Tuchel

His choice to join the Foxes in the summer of 2015 proved inspired. A couple of weeks later Leicester appointed Claudio Ranieri and what followed is legendary. The Italian joined the club in the midst of a pre-season camp in Austria and his observational approach worked wonders. {'When you look at Claudio you envision an seasoned professional, so experienced in the game, maybe a bit old school, but he’s anything but,' 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 studied you for a week and I’m not going to modify anything.''

Fuchs cherishes lessons learned from Rodgers and Tuchel, under whom he worked while on loan at Mainz. {'He always pondered: ‘How can I get more out of the players? How can I challenge them psychologically?’’ Fuchs says of Tuchel. {'That’s a significant part of our methodology as well. How can you make good thinkers on the pitch? Back then he was probably in a comparable position to where I am now … very motivated, very anxious to prove himself.'

Background and a Determined Nature

Fuchs’s motivation comes from his early years in Neunkirchen. {'There are comparisons 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 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 cannot do that.’ I’m going to prove that I can and work my socks off. The other thing about my personality is: I’m very stubborn. If I see potential, I’m making it happen.'

Detailed Approach and the Struggle for Survival

Fuchs’s assistant, Mark Smith, was born in Newport and formerly ran Fuchs’s Fox Soccer Academy. Fuchs opens his laptop to show analytics from a recent 2-2 draw, sharing a slide he showed his players. {'The team hit several season highs,' he explains, noting ball progression and statistics about getting behind defensive lines. Passing accuracy was shown as 87%. {'Not happy with that … that needs to be in the 90-95% range,' he states. {'My first game, it was very direct, lower-league football, but we want to be different. I think a five-yard pass has a higher chance to arrive than just launching it all the time.'

The broader numbers present sobering 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 last-gasp equaliser with 10 men garnered a precious point. {'We need to be a power at home,' Fuchs emphasizes. {'It’s just not satisfactory, not even having a win. We need to build a fortress.'

Still a Player at Heart

By his own admission, Fuchs likes a challenge. {'What’s so wrong with that?' He retired less than three years ago and, like Tuchel, likes being in the heart of the battle. {'I’m a component of the group. I’m still a player in here,' he remarks, pointing to his chest. {'At training I’m always participating in the small-sided games – two pannas already, get in! I want us to view each other as one team. Yes, you’re the ones on the field, but we’re a collective, we’re tackling this collectively.'