'I estimate that the chances of us turning the season around are slimmer than Leicester claiming the Premier League, so they are in our favor, right?' Christian Fuchs is reflecting on his recent venture as manager of the Football League's bottom club, and the immense task of averting a fall into non-league football. Here lies a challenge at the complete other end of the scale, though that miraculous title win in 2016 provided him with far more than a winner's medal. {'It helped change my outlook a little bit ... it demonstrated that the unthinkable can be possible,' he remarks.
The obvious place to start is: how did Fuchs wind up here? 'I guess that's the part that's illogical, right?' he says, letting out laughter. This remark acts as the 39-year-old's initial statement and a clear sign of his charismatic character across a colourful conversation. The discussion flows in multiple pathways, from working under the current England boss and Brendan Rodgers to the urgent quest to find a local barber.
He opens some correspondence on his desk. Included is a note from a Leicester supporter sending best wishes, along with a couple of glossy photos from that memorable year. {'Young Fuchs,' he says, with a smile. Another package brings a hoard of old collector's items, one from an album marking Euro 2016, when he captained Austria. A greeting from the Newport Supporters’ Club is displayed prominently. Items like this genuinely makes me very happy,' he adds.
Until coming back from North Carolina to accept his first job in first-team coaching 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 faced off against Fuchs. {'He had the game of his life,' Fuchs recalls. But when the lineup cards were released, an amusing error emerged. {'You need to redact this,' Fuchs jokes. 'They got wrong 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 nice.'
His decision to join the Foxes in the summer of 2015 turned out to be brilliant. A couple of weeks later Leicester appointed Claudio Ranieri and what followed is legendary. The Italian arrived at the club in the middle of a pre-season camp in Austria and his hands-off approach did the trick. {'When you look at Claudio you picture an seasoned professional, so experienced in the game, maybe a bit traditional, but he’s the complete opposite,' Fuchs says. {'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 watched 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 thought: ‘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 philosophy as well. How can you make good thinkers on the pitch? Back then he was probably in a analogous place to where I am now … very focused, very eager to prove himself.'
Fuchs’s determination comes from his early years 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 discloses. {'There are people who let that get the better of 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 cannot do that.’ I’m going to prove that I can and work my socks off. The other thing about my make-up is: I’m very determined. If I see potential, I’m making it happen.'
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 numerous season bests,' he points out, noting ball progression and statistics about getting behind defensive lines. Passing accuracy was shown as 87%. {'Not satisfied with that … that needs to be in the 90-95% range,' he insists. {'My first game, it was very physical, lower-league football, but we want to be unique. I think a five-yard pass has a higher probability to arrive than just launching it all the time.'
The overarching numbers paint sobering reading. Newport have secured three of 19 league matches and are yet to win in eight in all competitions. By the time of their next home game, they will have not secured three points at home for 273 days and have kept just two clean sheets in 26 matches this season. But a recent 93rd-minute equaliser with 10 men secured a precious point. {'We need to be a power at home,' Fuchs stresses. {'It’s just not good enough, not even having a win. We need to build a fortress.'
By his own acknowledgement, Fuchs relishes a challenge. {'What’s so negative with that?' He retired less than three years ago and, like Tuchel, loves being in the heart of the battle. {'I’m a member of the group. I’m still a player inside,' he states, tapping his chest. {'At training I’m always getting involved in the small-sided games – two pannas already, yes! 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 striving towards this as one.'
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