'I estimate that the likelihood of us transforming our fortunes are slimmer than Leicester lifting the Premier League, so they are in our favor, right?' Christian Fuchs is discussing his new life as boss of Newport County, and the immense task of preventing a fall into non-league football. This represents a challenge at the complete other end of the scale, though that unbelievable title win in 2016 furnished him much more than a Premier League trophy. {'It assisted in altering my perspective a little bit ... it demonstrated that the unthinkable can be achievable,' he notes.
The logical place to start is: what was the journey that led Fuchs end up here? 'I guess that's the part that's not logical, right?' he states, erupting in a laugh. This remark acts as the 39-year-old's initial statement and a clear indication of his playful character across a fascinating conversation. The discussion travels in multiple pathways, from working under the current England boss and the former Leicester manager to the immediate requirement to find a local barber.
He looks at some correspondence on his desk. Among it is a message from a Leicester supporter wishing him well, paired with a couple of shiny pictures from that season. {'Young Fuchs,' he says, grinning. Another envelope brings a stash of old stickers, one from an album celebrating Euro 2016, when he led Austria. A card from the Newport Supporters’ Club is displayed prominently. Items like this really makes me very happy,' he adds.
Until returning from North Carolina to accept his first job in senior management last month, Fuchs’s previous visit to Rodney Parade was in January 2019, when Leicester endured a Newport cupset in the FA Cup third round. On that occasion a former full-back faced off against Fuchs. {'He had the performance of his career,' Fuchs admits. But when the teamsheets dropped, an curious error was discovered. {'You need to redact this,' Fuchs says with a smile. 'They misspelled my name – somehow a 'k' found its way in in place of the 'h'. It is amusing because Fuchs, in German, means fox, so it’s something nice.'
His move to join the Foxes in the summer of 2015 was inspired. A couple of weeks later Leicester appointed Claudio Ranieri and an iconic story unfolded. The Italian joined the club in the midst of a pre-season camp in Austria and his observational approach did the trick. {'When you observe Claudio you imagine an elder gentleman, so experienced in the game, maybe a bit traditional, but he’s anything but,' Fuchs says. {'He just said he was going to watch 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 studied you for a week and I’m not going to change anything.''
Fuchs values experiences 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 significant part of our approach as well. How can you make good decision-makers? Back then he was probably in a similar situation to where I am now … very motivated, very anxious to prove himself.'
Fuchs’s determination stems from his childhood 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 good enough,' he shares. {'There are people who let that overcome them or there are people who say: ‘Watch me, 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 make-up is: I’m pretty stubborn. If I see promise, I’m making it happen.'
Fuchs’s assistant, Mark Smith, was born in Newport and previously led Fuchs’s Fox Soccer Academy. Fuchs opens his laptop to show analytics from a recent 2-2 draw, sharing a slide he showed his players. {'The team hit numerous season bests,' he points out, noting ball progression and statistics about getting behind defensive lines. Passing accuracy was logged at 87%. {'Not satisfied with that … that needs to be in the 90-95% range,' he states. {'My first game, it was very direct, lower-league football, but we want to be different. I think a five-yard pass has a higher probability to be successful than just launching it all the time.'
The broader numbers paint 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 tasted victory at home for 273 days and have kept just two clean sheets in 26 matches this season. But a recent last-gasp 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 construct a fortress.'
By his own confession, 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 member of the group. I’m still a player at heart,' he says, indicating his chest. {'At training I’m always participating in the drills – two nutmegs 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 striving towards this as one.'
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