'I reckon that the likelihood of us reviving our campaign are less than Leicester winning the Premier League, so they are in our favour, right?' Christian Fuchs is discussing his new life as boss of Newport County, and the monumental task of staving off a fall into non-league football. It is a challenge at the polar opposite of the scale, though that fairytale title win in 2016 furnished him far more than a champion's gong. {'It helped change my outlook a little bit ... it showed that the impossible can be attainable,' he notes.
The Surprising Path to Rodney Parade
The obvious place to start is: how did Fuchs find himself here? 'I imagine that's the part that's illogical, right?' he says, letting out a chuckle. It is the 39-year-old's initial statement and a clear sign of his charismatic character across a wide-ranging conversation. Our talk travels in multiple pathways, from working under Thomas Tuchel and the former Leicester manager to the immediate requirement to find a barber in the area.
He sorts through some correspondence on his desk. There is a message from a Leicester supporter offering encouragement, accompanied by a couple of shiny pictures from that memorable year. {'Young Fuchs,' he says, with a smile. Another envelope brings a hoard of old stickers, one from an album celebrating Euro 2016, when he skippered Austria. A card from the Newport Supporters’ Club has pride of place. Items like this genuinely makes me very happy,' he concludes.
A Prior Encounter and a Funny Mistake
Prior to coming back from North Carolina to take on his first job in senior management last month, Fuchs’s last trip to Rodney Parade was in January 2019, when Leicester suffered a Newport cupset in the FA Cup third round. On that occasion David Pipe competed with Fuchs. {'He had the match of his career,' Fuchs says. But when the teamsheets were released, an interesting error came to light. {'You need to censor this,' Fuchs says with a smile. 'They got wrong my name – somehow a 'k' crept in in place of the 'h'. It is funny because Fuchs, in German, means fox, so it’s something pleasant.'
Experiences from The Tinkerman, Rodgers and Tuchel
His decision to join the Foxes in the summer of 2015 proved a masterstroke. A couple of weeks later Leicester appointed Claudio Ranieri and the rest is history. The Italian came to the club in the heart of a pre-season camp in Austria and his light-touch 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 explains. {'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 watched you for a week and I’m not going to alter anything.''
Fuchs cherishes insights gained from Rodgers and Tuchel, under whom he worked while on loan at Mainz. {'He always thought: ‘How can I get extra 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 decision-makers? Back then he was probably in a comparable position to where I am now … very motivated, very anxious to prove himself.'
Background and a Resolute Character
Fuchs’s drive stems from 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 discloses. {'There are people who let that overcome 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 work my socks off. The other thing about my personality is: I’m quite headstrong. If I see possibility, I’m making it happen.'
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 boots up his laptop to show analytics from a recent 2-2 draw, displaying a slide he showed his players. {'The team hit many, many season peaks,' he explains, highlighting ball progression and statistics about penetrating 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 physical, fourth-tier 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 general 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 dominant side at home,' Fuchs stresses. {'It’s just not satisfactory, not even having a win. We need to build a fortress.'
One of the Lads at Heart
By his own confession, Fuchs likes a challenge. {'What’s so bad with that?' He hung up his boots less than three years ago and, like Tuchel, enjoys being in the thick of things. {'I’m a member of the group. I’m still a player at heart,' he says, pointing to his chest. {'At training I’m always participating in the small-sided games – 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 one team, we’re striving towards this as one.'
