{Christian Fuchs: 'I'm Pretty Stubborn. When I Spot Potential, I'm Going for It'|Ex-Leicester Star Christian Fuchs Speaks Candidly on Newport County Challenge

'I reckon that the chances of us transforming our fortunes are slimmer than Leicester claiming the Premier League, so they are in our favor, right?' Christian Fuchs is reflecting on his fresh chapter as head coach of the Football League's bottom club, and the immense task of staving off a drop into non-league football. It is a challenge at the polar opposite of the spectrum of success, though that miraculous title win in 2016 gave him a great deal more than a winner's medal. {'It helped change my outlook a little bit ... it demonstrated that the unthinkable can be possible,' he notes.

The Surprising Path to Rodney Parade

The logical place to start is: what brought Fuchs wind up here? 'That's the part of the story that defies logic, wouldn't you say?' he states, breaking into laughter. This serves as the 39-year-old's initial statement and a clear sign of his playful character across a colourful conversation. The discussion runs in different directions, from playing for Thomas Tuchel and Brendan Rodgers to the urgent quest to find a barber in the area.

He opens some mail on his desk. Included is a letter from a Leicester supporter sending best wishes, paired with a couple of professional photographs from that season. {'Young Fuchs,' he says, with a smile. Another package brings a collection of old stickers, one from an album celebrating Euro 2016, when he captained Austria. A card from the Newport Supporters’ Club is given special attention. Things like this makes me very happy,' he adds.

A Previous Visit and a Funny Mistake

Until his move back from North Carolina to accept his first job in senior management last month, Fuchs’s last trip to Rodney Parade was in January 2019, when Leicester endured a Newport giantkilling in the FA Cup third round. That day the Newport kit man duelled against Fuchs. {'He had the match of his career,' Fuchs recalls. But when the official sheets came out, an amusing error emerged. {'You need to redact this,' Fuchs jokes. 'They misspelled my name – somehow a 'k' smuggled itself in in place of the 'h'. It is amusing because Fuchs, in German, means fox, so it’s something pleasant.'

Lessons from Claudio, Rodgers and Tuchel

His move to join the Foxes in the summer of 2015 was a masterstroke. A couple of weeks later Leicester hired Claudio Ranieri and an iconic story unfolded. The Italian arrived at the club in the middle of a pre-season camp in Austria and his observational approach produced miracles. {'When you look at Claudio you imagine an elder gentleman, so a veteran of the sport, maybe a bit set in his ways, but he’s anything but,' Fuchs explains. {'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 studied you for a week and I’m not going to change anything.''

Fuchs holds dear insights gained from Rodgers and Tuchel, under whom he worked while on loan at Mainz. {'He always considered: ‘How can I get more out of the players? How can I challenge them mentally?’’ Fuchs says of Tuchel. {'That’s a significant part of our methodology as well. How can you make good thinkers on the pitch? Back then he was probably in a comparable position to where I am now … very focused, very keen to prove himself.'

Roots and a Resolute Mindset

Fuchs’s drive comes from his childhood 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 capable enough,' he discloses. {'There are people who let that get the better of them or there are people who say: ‘Fuchs you, 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 prove that I can and put in the hard yards. The other thing about my make-up is: I’m very headstrong. If I see promise, I’m doing it.'

Analytical Approach and the Battle for Survival

Fuchs’s assistant, Mark Smith, was born in Newport and formerly ran Fuchs’s Fox Soccer Academy. Fuchs fires up his laptop to show data from a recent 2-2 draw, presenting a slide he used with his players. {'The team hit numerous season bests,' he says, highlighting ball progression and statistics about getting behind defensive lines. Passing accuracy was recorded at 87%. {'Not happy with that … that needs to be in the 90-95% range,' he states. {'My first game, it was very direct, League Two football, but we want to be unique. I think a five-yard pass has a higher probability to arrive than just hoofing it all the time.'

The general numbers make grim reading. Newport have won three of 19 league matches and are winless 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 secured a precious point. {'We need to be a power at home,' Fuchs says. {'It’s just not good enough, not even having a win. We need to create a impenetrable home.'

In the Thick of It at Heart

By his own confession, Fuchs enjoys a challenge. {'What’s so bad with that?' He retired less than three years ago and, like Tuchel, loves being in the thick of things. {'I’m a member of the group. I’m still a player inside,' he says, pointing to his chest. {'At training I’m always participating 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 one team, we’re working on this collectively.'