🔗 Share this article

'The prospect of a seasonal revival is arguably more remote than that legendary 5,000-1 title, which logically puts the odds in our favour.' Christian Fuchs is talking about his new life as head coach of the Football League's bottom club, and the monumental task of staving off a fall into non-league football. Here lies a challenge at the polar opposite of the scale, though that unbelievable title win in 2016 furnished him far more than a winner's medal. {'It assisted in altering my mindset a little bit ... it demonstrated that the unattainable can be achievable,' he remarks.

'How Did Fuchs End Up Here?'

The obvious place to start is: how did Fuchs end up here? 'I suppose that's the part that's illogical, right?' he comments, erupting in a laugh. This serves as the 39-year-old's initial statement and a clear indication of his playful character across a wide-ranging conversation. Our talk flows in different directions, from playing for Thomas Tuchel and Brendan Rodgers to the urgent quest to find a nearby hairdresser.

He opens some correspondence on his desk. Included is a message from a Leicester supporter wishing him well, paired with a couple of glossy photos from that campaign. {'Young Fuchs,' he says, grinning. Another delivery brings a collection of old Panini stickers, one from an album marking Euro 2016, when he led Austria. A greeting from the Newport Supporters’ Club has pride of place. Items like this makes me very happy,' he states.

A Prior Encounter and a Funny Mistake

Until coming back from North Carolina to accept his first job in senior management last month, Fuchs’s most recent encounter to Rodney Parade was in January 2019, when Leicester suffered a Newport giantkilling in the FA Cup third round. During that match David Pipe competed with Fuchs. {'He had the game of his life,' Fuchs admits. But when the teamsheets were released, an curious error emerged. {'You need to redact this,' Fuchs remarks. 'They misspelled my name – somehow a 'k' smuggled itself in in place of the 'h'. It is funny because Fuchs, in German, means fox, so it’s something nice.'

Lessons from Claudio, Rodgers and Tuchel

His decision to join the Foxes in the summer of 2015 proved a masterstroke. A couple of weeks later Leicester brought in Claudio Ranieri and what followed is legendary. The Italian joined the club in the midst of a pre-season camp in Austria and his observational approach produced miracles. {'When you look at Claudio you picture an seasoned professional, so experienced in the game, maybe a bit old school, but he’s the complete opposite,' Fuchs states. {'He just said he was going to observe 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 change anything.''

Fuchs cherishes insights gained 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 push them mentally?’’ Fuchs says of Tuchel. {'That’s a big part of our approach as well. How can you make good players who choose wisely? Back then he was probably in a analogous place to where I am now … very focused, very keen to prove himself.'

Background and a Resolute Mindset

Fuchs’s motivation stems from his childhood in Neunkirchen. {'There are parallels 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 get the better of them or there are people who say: ‘Watch me, 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 prove that I can and work my socks off. The other thing about my character is: I’m pretty headstrong. If I see possibility, I’m going for it.'

Data-Driven Approach and the Struggle for Survival

Fuchs’s assistant, Mark Smith, was born in Newport and had been in charge of Fuchs’s Fox Soccer Academy. Fuchs fires up his laptop to show analytics from a recent 2-2 draw, sharing a slide he used with his players. {'The team hit many, many season bests,' he says, emphasizing ball progression and statistics about breaking defensive lines. Passing accuracy was recorded at 87%. {'Not satisfied with that … that needs to be in the 90-95% range,' he declares. {'My first game, it was very direct, League Two football, but we want to be different. I think a five-yard pass has a higher percentage to find its target than just going long all the time.'

The overarching numbers present grim reading. Newport have secured three of 19 league matches and are winless 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 garnered a crucial point. {'We need to be a dominant side at home,' Fuchs stresses. {'It’s just not acceptable, not even having a win. We need to build a stronghold.'

In the Thick of It at Heart

By his own acknowledgement, Fuchs enjoys a challenge. {'What’s so wrong with that?' He ended his playing career less than three years ago and, like Tuchel, likes being in the heart of the battle. {'I’m a component of the group. I’m still a player at heart,' 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 working on this as one.'