🔗 Share this article

'I estimate that the likelihood of us transforming our fortunes are slimmer than Leicester winning the Premier League, so they are in our benefit, right?' Christian Fuchs is discussing his fresh chapter as boss of Newport County, and the daunting task of staving off a fall into non-league football. This represents a challenge at the polar opposite of the spectrum of success, though that fairytale title win in 2016 provided him with much more than a winner's medal. {'It helped change my outlook a little bit ... it showed that the unattainable can be possible,' he states.

The Illogical Path to Rodney Parade

The natural place to start is: what brought Fuchs wind up here? 'That's the aspect of the story that defies logic, wouldn't you say?' he states, letting out a chuckle. It is the 39-year-old's introductory line and a clear demonstration of his charismatic character across a colourful conversation. Our talk runs in different directions, from being managed by Thomas Tuchel and Brendan Rodgers to the pressing need to find a barber in the area.

He looks at some post on his desk. There is a note from a Leicester supporter sending best wishes, paired with a couple of professional photographs from that season. {'Young Fuchs,' he muses, grinning. Another envelope brings a hoard of old Panini stickers, one from an album marking Euro 2016, when he skippered Austria. A greeting from the Newport Supporters’ Club is displayed prominently. Items like this really makes me very pleased,' he adds.

A Previous Visit and a Misspelt Name

Until his move back from North Carolina to assume his first job in senior management last month, Fuchs’s most recent encounter to Rodney Parade was in January 2019, when Leicester were on the end of a Newport cupset in the FA Cup third round. On that occasion David Pipe duelled against Fuchs. {'He had the performance of his life,' Fuchs recalls. But when the teamsheets dropped, an interesting error was discovered. {'You need to edit this,' Fuchs jokes. 'They misspelled my name – somehow a 'k' crept in in place of the 'h'. It is amusing because Fuchs, in German, means fox, so it’s something fitting.'

Experiences from Ranieri, Rodgers and Tuchel

His move to join the Foxes in the summer of 2015 was brilliant. A couple of weeks later Leicester brought in Claudio Ranieri and what followed is legendary. The Italian arrived at the club in the middle of a pre-season camp in Austria and his hands-off approach did the trick. {'When you see Claudio you picture an seasoned professional, so long in the business, maybe a bit set in his ways, but he’s anything but,' Fuchs explains. {'He just said he was going to watch training in Austria for the first week. He remained on the sidelines at all. After that week we had a meeting and he said: 'I’ve observed you for a week and I’m not going to modify anything.''

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

Background and a Stubborn Nature

Fuchs’s motivation 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 shares. {'There are people who let that defeat them or there are people who say: ‘Fuchs 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 make-up is: I’m pretty determined. If I see promise, I’m doing it.'

Data-Driven Approach and the Battle for Survival

Fuchs’s assistant, Mark Smith, was born in Newport and formerly ran Fuchs’s Fox Soccer Academy. Fuchs fires up his laptop to show data from a recent 2-2 draw, displaying a slide he presented to his players. {'The team hit many, many season bests,' he says, emphasizing ball progression and statistics about getting behind defensive lines. Passing accuracy was recorded at 87%. {'Not pleased with that … that needs to be in the 90-95% range,' he states. {'My first game, it was very physical, League Two football, but we want to be unique. I think a five-yard pass has a higher percentage to find its target than just hoofing it all the time.'

The overarching numbers present grim reading. Newport have won three of 19 league matches and are without a victory 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 garnered 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 fortress.'

Still a Player at Heart

By his own acknowledgement, Fuchs enjoys a challenge. {'What’s so bad with that?' He retired less than three years ago and, like Tuchel, loves being in the heart of the battle. {'I’m a member of the group. I’m still a player inside,' he remarks, pointing to his chest. {'At training I’m always joining in in the drills – two pannas already, brilliant! I want us to see each other as one team. Yes, you’re the ones on the field, but we’re all in this together, we’re working on this together.'