🔗 Share this article

'The prospect of a seasonal revival is arguably a longer shot than that historic 5,000-1 title, which somehow puts the odds in our favor.' Christian Fuchs is discussing his recent venture as boss of Newport County, and the monumental task of preventing a drop into non-league football. This represents a challenge at the complete other end of the spectrum, though that fairytale title win in 2016 gave him much more than a winner's medal. {'It contributed to shifting my perspective a little bit ... it showed that the impossible can be possible,' he notes.

The Surprising Path to Rodney Parade

The logical place to start is: what was the journey that led Fuchs end up here? 'That's the part of the story that seems counterintuitive, wouldn't you say?' he states, letting out laughter. This remark acts as the 39-year-old's initial statement and a clear indication of his charismatic character across a colourful conversation. The discussion travels in various tangents, from working under the current England boss and Brendan Rodgers to the immediate requirement to find a nearby hairdresser.

He opens some correspondence on his desk. Included is a note from a Leicester supporter wishing him well, paired with a couple of professional photographs from that season. {'Young Fuchs,' he says, with a smile. Another delivery brings a hoard of old stickers, one from an album commemorating Euro 2016, when he captained Austria. A greeting from the Newport Supporters’ Club is displayed prominently. Things like this makes me very happy,' he adds.

A Past Trip and a Funny Mistake

Until coming back from North Carolina to take on his first job in first-team coaching last month, Fuchs’s previous visit to Rodney Parade was in January 2019, when Leicester endured a Newport cupset in the FA Cup third round. On that occasion David Pipe faced off against Fuchs. {'He had the game of his life,' Fuchs recalls. But when the lineup cards dropped, an interesting error emerged. {'You need to redact this,' Fuchs jokes. 'They got wrong 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 The Tinkerman, Rodgers and Tuchel

His decision to join the Foxes in the summer of 2015 was a masterstroke. A couple of weeks later Leicester hired Claudio Ranieri and what followed is legendary. The Italian came to the club in the heart of a pre-season camp in Austria and his observational approach did the trick. {'When you observe Claudio you envision an seasoned professional, so long in the business, maybe a bit traditional, but he’s the complete opposite,' Fuchs says. {'He just said he was going to monitor 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 values experiences from Rodgers and Tuchel, under whom he worked while on loan at Mainz. {'He always pondered: ‘How can I get additional out of the players? How can I challenge them psychologically?’’ Fuchs says of Tuchel. {'That’s a big part of our approach as well. How can you make good thinkers on the pitch? Back then he was probably in a similar situation to where I am now … very driven, very eager to prove himself.'

Origins and a Stubborn Nature

Fuchs’s drive originates in 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 overcome them or there are people who say: ‘Watch me, I’m going to show you.’ I’ve been told too many times: ‘You can't do this, you cannot do that.’ I’m going to prove that I can and put in the hard yards. The other thing about my character is: I’m pretty headstrong. If I see possibility, I’m making it happen.'

Detailed Approach and the Struggle 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, displaying a slide he presented to his players. {'The team hit numerous season highs,' he says, emphasizing ball progression and statistics about getting behind defensive lines. Passing accuracy was recorded at 87%. {'Not happy with that … that needs to be in the 90-95% range,' he states. {'My first game, it was very physical, lower-league football, but we want to be distinct. I think a five-yard pass has a higher chance to arrive than just launching it all the time.'

The overarching numbers paint sobering 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 injury-time equaliser with 10 men secured a valuable point. {'We need to be a dominant side at home,' Fuchs stresses. {'It’s just not good enough, not even having a win. We need to create a stronghold.'

One of the Lads at Heart

By his own acknowledgement, Fuchs relishes a challenge. {'What’s so negative with that?' He hung up his boots less than three years ago and, like Tuchel, enjoys being in the middle of the action. {'I’m a member of the group. I’m still a player at heart,' he says, indicating his chest. {'At training I’m always getting involved in the boxes – two nutmegs 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 a collective, we’re tackling this together.'