{Christian Fuchs: 'I'm Very Determined. When I Spot Potential, I'm Going for It'|Former Foxes Defender Christian Fuchs Opens Up on Newport County Mission

'The prospect of a late surge is arguably a longer shot than that legendary 5,000-1 title, which strangely puts the odds in our favour.' Christian Fuchs is discussing his fresh chapter as head coach of the Football League's bottom club, and the immense task of preventing a fall into non-league football. It is a challenge at the complete other end of the spectrum of success, though that fairytale title win in 2016 provided him with far more than a winner's medal. {'It contributed to shifting my outlook a little bit ... it proved that the impossible can be possible,' he states.

The Surprising Path to Rodney Parade

The obvious place to start is: what was the journey that led Fuchs end up here? 'That's the element of the story that isn't straightforward, wouldn't you say?' he says, erupting in a chuckle. It is the 39-year-old's introductory line and a clear indication of his engaging character across a fascinating conversation. Discourse travels in various tangents, from playing for the current England boss and the former Leicester manager to the pressing need to find a barber in the area.

He looks at some mail on his desk. Included is a message from a Leicester supporter wishing him well, paired with a couple of shiny pictures from that season. {'Young Fuchs,' he remarks, with a smile. Another envelope brings a hoard of old stickers, one from an album celebrating Euro 2016, when he led Austria. A card from the Newport Supporters’ Club is displayed prominently. Things like this makes me very pleased,' he concludes.

A Prior Encounter and a Misspelt Name

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 suffered a Newport shock defeat in the FA Cup third round. During that match a former full-back duelled against Fuchs. {'He had the performance of his career,' Fuchs admits. But when the official sheets came out, an amusing error was discovered. {'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.'

Lessons from Ranieri, Rodgers and Tuchel

His decision to join the Foxes in the summer of 2015 proved brilliant. A couple of weeks later Leicester hired Claudio Ranieri and the rest is history. The Italian joined the club in the heart of a pre-season camp in Austria and his observational approach did the trick. {'When you observe Claudio you envision an seasoned professional, so long in the business, maybe a bit old school, but he’s so not,' 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 watched 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 pondered: ‘How can I get extra out of the players? How can I test them mentally?’’ Fuchs says of Tuchel. {'That’s a major 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 keen to prove himself.'

Background and a Determined Mindset

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 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 can not do that.’ I’m going to show that I can and work my socks off. The other thing about my make-up is: I’m quite headstrong. If I see potential, I’m doing it.'

Data-Driven Approach and the Fight for Survival

Fuchs’s assistant, Mark Smith, was born in Newport and formerly ran Fuchs’s Fox Soccer Academy. Fuchs opens his laptop to show analytics from a recent 2-2 draw, presenting a slide he used with his players. {'The team hit many, many season bests,' he says, noting ball progression and statistics about penetrating defensive lines. Passing accuracy was recorded at 87%. {'Not pleased with that … that needs to be in the mid-90s,' he declares. {'My first game, it was very long-ball, lower-league football, but we want to be distinct. I think a five-yard pass has a higher percentage to be successful than just launching it all the time.'

The overarching numbers make bleak 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 last-gasp equaliser with 10 men secured a precious point. {'We need to be a force at home,' Fuchs stresses. {'It’s just not satisfactory, not even having a win. We need to construct a stronghold.'

In the Thick of It at Heart

By his own acknowledgement, Fuchs enjoys a challenge. {'What’s so wrong with that?' He hung up his boots less than three years ago and, like Tuchel, likes being in the heart of the battle. {'I’m a part of the group. I’m still a player at heart,' he says, tapping his chest. {'At training I’m always participating in the drills – two pannas already, get in! I want us to view each other as a single unit. Yes, you’re the ones on the field, but we’re a collective, we’re working on this collectively.'