🔗 Share this article

'I would say that the likelihood of us transforming our fortunes are slimmer than Leicester winning the Premier League, so they are in our favor, right?' Christian Fuchs is talking about 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 unbelievable title win in 2016 gave him far more than a champion's gong. {'It contributed to shifting my outlook a little bit ... it proved that the unattainable can be achievable,' he remarks.

'How Did Fuchs Wind Up Here?'

The obvious place to start is: how did Fuchs end up here? 'I guess that's the part that's illogical, right?' he states, letting out a laugh. It is the 39-year-old's opening gambit and a clear demonstration of his charismatic character across a colourful conversation. Our talk flows in multiple pathways, from being managed by Thomas Tuchel and the former Leicester manager to the immediate requirement to find a barber in the area.

He opens some post on his desk. Included is a message from a Leicester supporter sending best wishes, accompanied by a couple of shiny pictures from that memorable year. {'Young Fuchs,' he muses, with a smile. Another delivery brings a hoard of old stickers, one from an album commemorating Euro 2016, when he led Austria. A note from the Newport Supporters’ Club has pride of place. 'Stuff like this really makes me very happy,' he states.

A Past Trip and a Typographical Error

Until his move back from North Carolina to assume his first job in senior management last month, Fuchs’s previous visit to Rodney Parade was in January 2019, when Leicester suffered a Newport shock defeat in the FA Cup third round. That day the Newport kit man duelled against Fuchs. {'He had the performance of his career,' Fuchs admits. But when the teamsheets dropped, an amusing error came to light. {'You need to redact this,' Fuchs says with a smile. 'They misspelled my name – somehow a 'k' smuggled itself in in place of the 'h'. It is hilarious because Fuchs, in German, means fox, so it’s something fitting.'

Experiences from Claudio, Rodgers and Tuchel

His move to join the Foxes in the summer of 2015 proved a masterstroke. A couple of weeks later Leicester hired Claudio Ranieri and what followed is legendary. The Italian came to the club in the midst of a pre-season camp in Austria and his hands-off approach produced miracles. {'When you see Claudio you imagine an seasoned professional, so long in the business, maybe a bit set in his ways, but he’s the complete opposite,' Fuchs says. {'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 observed you for a week and I’m not going to change anything.''

Fuchs holds dear lessons learned 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 psychologically?’’ Fuchs says of Tuchel. {'That’s a significant part of our approach 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 driven, very anxious to prove himself.'

Background and a Determined Mindset

Fuchs’s motivation comes from his childhood 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 capable enough,' he discloses. {'There are people who let that overcome them or there are people who say: ‘Fuchs you, I’m going to show you.’ I’ve been told too many times: ‘You can not do this, you cannot do that.’ I’m going to show that I can and give absolutely everything. The other thing about my make-up is: I’m very headstrong. If I see promise, I’m making it happen.'

Data-Driven Approach and the Battle for Survival

Fuchs’s assistant, Mark Smith, was born in Newport and previously led Fuchs’s Fox Soccer Academy. Fuchs fires up his laptop to show data from a recent 2-2 draw, presenting 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 states. {'My first game, it was very physical, lower-league football, but we want to be different. I think a five-yard pass has a higher percentage to be successful than just going long all the time.'

The broader numbers present sobering reading. Newport have managed 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 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 valuable point. {'We need to be a force at home,' Fuchs stresses. {'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 hung up his boots less than three years ago and, like Tuchel, likes being in the middle of the action. {'I’m a component of the group. I’m still a player inside,' he says, pointing to his chest. {'At training I’m always joining in in the boxes – two megs already, yes! I want us to regard each other as a single unit. Yes, you’re the ones on the field, but we’re a collective, we’re striving towards this together.'