{Christian Fuchs: 'I'm Quite Stubborn. If I See Potential, I'm Making It Happen'|Former Foxes Defender Christian Fuchs Speaks Candidly on Newport County Challenge

'The probability of a late surge is arguably more remote than that legendary 5,000-1 title, which strangely puts the odds in our corner.' Christian Fuchs is reflecting on his fresh chapter as boss of Newport County, and the daunting task of staving off a fall into non-league football. It is a challenge at the polar opposite of the spectrum, though that fairytale title win in 2016 provided him with much more than a champion's gong. {'It helped change my perspective a little bit ... it showed that the unattainable can be attainable,' he notes.

The Surprising Path to Rodney Parade

The obvious place to start is: how did Fuchs end up here? 'I guess that's the part that's unpredictable, right?' he says, breaking into a chuckle. This serves as the 39-year-old's introductory line and a clear demonstration of his engaging character across a colourful conversation. Discourse flows in various tangents, from being managed by the current England boss and Brendan Rodgers to the immediate requirement to find a local barber.

He sorts through some post on his desk. Among it is a letter from a Leicester supporter sending best wishes, paired with a couple of professional photographs from that campaign. {'Young Fuchs,' he remarks, grinning. Another package brings a stash of old Panini stickers, one from an album commemorating Euro 2016, when he captained Austria. A greeting from the Newport Supporters’ Club has pride of place. 'Stuff like this really makes me very happy,' he states.

A Previous Visit and a Funny Mistake

Prior to coming back from North Carolina to take on his first job in senior management last month, Fuchs’s previous visit to Rodney Parade was in January 2019, when Leicester endured a Newport shock defeat in the FA Cup third round. During that match David Pipe competed with Fuchs. {'He had the performance of his life,' Fuchs admits. But when the teamsheets dropped, an interesting error emerged. {'You need to edit this,' Fuchs jokes. 'They misspelled my name – somehow a 'k' found its way in in place of the 'h'. It is funny because Fuchs, in German, means fox, so it’s something nice.'

Lessons from The Tinkerman, Rodgers and Tuchel

His move to join the Foxes in the summer of 2015 turned out to be brilliant. A couple of weeks later Leicester brought in Claudio Ranieri and what followed is legendary. The Italian came to the club in the middle of a pre-season camp in Austria and his hands-off approach worked wonders. {'When you see Claudio you imagine an older man, so a veteran of the sport, maybe a bit old school, but he’s the complete opposite,' Fuchs explains. {'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 studied you for a week and I’m not going to alter anything.''

Fuchs cherishes lessons learned from Rodgers and Tuchel, under whom he worked while on loan at Mainz. {'He always considered: ‘How can I get additional out of the players? How can I challenge them psychologically?’’ Fuchs says of Tuchel. {'That’s a significant 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 focused, very keen to prove himself.'

Roots and a Stubborn Nature

Fuchs’s motivation stems from 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 shares. {'There are people who let that overcome them or there are people who say: ‘Fuchs 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 show 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.'

Data-Driven Approach and the Battle for Survival

Fuchs’s assistant, Mark Smith, was born in Newport and had been in charge of Fuchs’s Fox Soccer Academy. Fuchs opens his laptop to show analytics from a recent 2-2 draw, displaying a slide he showed his players. {'The team hit numerous season highs,' he points out, highlighting ball progression and statistics about breaking 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 direct, fourth-tier 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 broader numbers present sobering reading. Newport have managed 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 secured three points 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 says. {'It’s just not acceptable, not even having a win. We need to create a stronghold.'

One of the Lads at Heart

By his own acknowledgement, Fuchs enjoys a challenge. {'What’s so negative with that?' He ended his playing career 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 inside,' he says, tapping his chest. {'At training I’m always getting involved in the drills – two pannas already, brilliant! I want us to see each other as a single unit. Yes, you’re the ones on the field, but we’re one team, we’re working on this collectively.'