🔗 Share this article

'I estimate that the chances of us reviving our campaign are slimmer than Leicester winning the Premier League, so they are in our favour, right?' Christian Fuchs is discussing his fresh chapter as boss of the Football League's bottom club, and the monumental task of averting a descent into non-league football. This represents a challenge at the polar opposite of the scale, though that miraculous title win in 2016 gave him much more than a Premier League trophy. {'It helped change my outlook a little bit ... it demonstrated that the unthinkable can be possible,' he states.

'How Did Fuchs End Up Here?'

The logical place to start is: what was the journey that led Fuchs end up here? 'That's the element of the story that defies logic, wouldn't you say?' he comments, breaking into laughter. This serves as the 39-year-old's initial statement and a clear sign of his engaging character across a colourful conversation. Our talk travels in multiple pathways, from playing for Thomas Tuchel and the former Leicester manager to the pressing need to find a barber in the area.

He opens some mail on his desk. There is a message from a Leicester supporter wishing him well, along with a couple of glossy photos from that memorable year. {'Young Fuchs,' he muses, with a smile. Another package brings a hoard of old Panini stickers, one from an album commemorating Euro 2016, when he captained Austria. A note from the Newport Supporters’ Club is displayed prominently. 'Stuff like this really makes me very pleased,' he adds.

A Prior Encounter and a Funny Mistake

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 were on the end of a Newport cupset in the FA Cup third round. On that occasion the Newport kit man competed with Fuchs. {'He had the game of his career,' Fuchs admits. But when the official sheets dropped, an curious error came to light. {'You need to redact this,' Fuchs remarks. 'They misspelt 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 pleasant.'

Lessons from Claudio, Rodgers and Tuchel

His choice to join the Foxes in the summer of 2015 was inspired. A couple of weeks later Leicester brought in 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 hands-off approach produced miracles. {'When you look at Claudio you imagine an seasoned professional, so experienced in the game, maybe a bit traditional, but he’s anything but,' Fuchs explains. {'He just said he was going to watch training in Austria for the first week. He didn’t get involved 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 holds dear experiences 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 test them mentally?’’ Fuchs says of Tuchel. {'That’s a big part of our philosophy 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 focused, very anxious to prove himself.'

Background and a Resolute Nature

Fuchs’s drive originates in 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 defeat 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 can't do that.’ I’m going to show that I can and put in the hard yards. The other thing about my personality is: I’m very determined. If I see possibility, I’m going for it.'

Detailed Approach and the Fight for Survival

Fuchs’s assistant, Mark Smith, was born in Newport and formerly ran Fuchs’s Fox Soccer Academy. Fuchs boots up his laptop to show statistics from a recent 2-2 draw, presenting a slide he presented to his players. {'The team hit numerous season peaks,' he says, highlighting ball progression and statistics about penetrating defensive lines. Passing accuracy was logged at 87%. {'Not happy with that … that needs to be in the mid-90s,' he declares. {'My first game, it was very long-ball, League Two football, but we want to be unique. I think a five-yard pass has a higher probability to find its target than just hoofing it all the time.'

The broader numbers present sobering reading. Newport have secured 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 won a game 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 garnered a precious point. {'We need to be a force at home,' Fuchs emphasizes. {'It’s just not satisfactory, not even having a win. We need to create a impenetrable home.'

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, enjoys being in the thick of things. {'I’m a part of the group. I’m still a player in here,' he states, tapping his chest. {'At training I’m always getting involved in the boxes – two pannas already, get in! I want us to regard each other as a single unit. Yes, you’re the ones on the field, but we’re all in this together, we’re tackling this together.'