🔗 Share this article

'I reckon that the odds of us transforming our fortunes are slimmer than Leicester claiming the Premier League, so they are in our favor, right?' Christian Fuchs is talking about his new life as head coach of Newport County, and the daunting task of staving off a drop into non-league football. It is a challenge at the polar opposite of the spectrum of success, though that fairytale title win in 2016 furnished him much more than a winner's medal. {'It contributed to shifting my mindset a little bit ... it proved that the unattainable can be achievable,' he notes.

'How Did Fuchs End Up Here?'

The obvious place to start is: what brought Fuchs wind up here? 'I suppose that's the part that's not logical, right?' he says, breaking into a laugh. It is the 39-year-old's introductory line and a clear sign of his playful character across a wide-ranging conversation. The discussion travels in various tangents, from playing for the current England boss and the former Leicester manager to the pressing need to find a local barber.

He opens some post on his desk. Included is a message from a Leicester supporter wishing him well, along with a couple of professional photographs from that campaign. {'Young Fuchs,' he says, smiling. Another envelope brings a hoard of old collector's items, one from an album marking Euro 2016, when he skippered Austria. A card from the Newport Supporters’ Club has pride of place. 'Stuff like this really makes me very happy,' he adds.

A Past Trip and a Typographical Error

Until returning from North Carolina to accept 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 game of his life,' Fuchs says. But when the lineup cards dropped, an amusing error emerged. {'You need to redact this,' Fuchs jokes. 'They misspelt 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 nice.'

Lessons from Ranieri, Rodgers and Tuchel

His choice to join the Foxes in the summer of 2015 was brilliant. A couple of weeks later Leicester hired 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 hands-off approach did the trick. {'When you see Claudio you envision an older man, so a veteran of the sport, maybe a bit traditional, but he’s the complete opposite,' Fuchs says. {'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 alter anything.''

Fuchs values insights gained from Rodgers and Tuchel, under whom he worked while on loan at Mainz. {'He always considered: ‘How can I get extra out of the players? How can I test 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 focused, very keen to prove himself.'

Origins and a Stubborn Character

Fuchs’s motivation originates in his early years 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 skilled enough,' he reveals. {'There are people who let that defeat them or there are people who say: ‘Watch me, 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 show that I can and put in the hard yards. The other thing about my make-up is: I’m quite stubborn. If I see promise, I’m going for it.'

Detailed Approach and the Fight 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 analytics from a recent 2-2 draw, presenting a slide he presented to his players. {'The team hit many, many season bests,' he explains, highlighting ball progression and statistics about breaking defensive lines. Passing accuracy was recorded at 87%. {'Not pleased with that … that needs to be in the 90-95% range,' he insists. {'My first game, it was very direct, lower-league football, but we want to be distinct. I think a five-yard pass has a higher chance to be successful than just going long all the time.'

The broader numbers paint 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 tasted victory 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 valuable point. {'We need to be a force at home,' Fuchs emphasizes. {'It’s just not good enough, not even having a win. We need to build a fortress.'

One of the Lads at Heart

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