{Christian Fuchs: 'I'm Very Stubborn. Whenever I Notice Possibility, I'm Going for It'|Ex-Leicester Star Christian Fuchs Speaks Candidly on Newport County Challenge

'I reckon that the likelihood of us turning the season around are less than Leicester lifting the Premier League, so they are in our favour, right?' The Austrian veteran is reflecting on his new life as boss of Newport County, and the immense task of preventing a drop into non-league football. It is a challenge at the polar opposite of the scale, though that fairytale title win in 2016 furnished him far more than a Premier League trophy. {'It contributed to shifting my perspective a little bit ... it demonstrated that the unthinkable can be attainable,' he remarks.

'How Did Fuchs Find Himself Here?'

The logical place to start is: how did Fuchs end up here? 'That's the part of the story that isn't straightforward, wouldn't you say?' he comments, breaking into a laugh. This serves as the 39-year-old's introductory line and a clear demonstration of his charismatic character across a colourful conversation. The discussion runs in different directions, from playing for the current England boss and Brendan Rodgers to the pressing need to find a barber in the area.

He sorts through some correspondence on his desk. Among it is a note from a Leicester supporter offering encouragement, along with a couple of shiny pictures from that season. {'Young Fuchs,' he remarks, smiling. Another package brings a hoard of old stickers, one from an album celebrating Euro 2016, when he captained Austria. A card from the Newport Supporters’ Club has pride of place. Things like this genuinely makes me very content,' he states.

A Past Trip and a Typographical Error

Until coming back from North Carolina to take on his first job in first-team coaching last month, Fuchs’s previous visit to Rodney Parade was in January 2019, when Leicester suffered a Newport cupset in the FA Cup third round. During that match a former full-back competed with Fuchs. {'He had the game of his career,' Fuchs recalls. But when the lineup cards dropped, an curious error was discovered. {'You need to redact this,' Fuchs remarks. 'They misspelt my name – somehow a 'k' crept in in place of the 'h'. It is funny because Fuchs, in German, means fox, so it’s something fitting.'

Lessons from Ranieri, Rodgers and Tuchel

His move to join the Foxes in the summer of 2015 was inspired. A couple of weeks later Leicester hired Claudio Ranieri and what followed is legendary. The Italian joined the club in the middle of a pre-season camp in Austria and his light-touch approach did the trick. {'When you look at Claudio you envision an elder gentleman, so a veteran of the sport, maybe a bit old school, but he’s the complete opposite,' Fuchs says. {'He just said he was going to observe 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 modify anything.''

Fuchs holds dear experiences from Rodgers and Tuchel, under whom he worked while on loan at Mainz. {'He always pondered: ‘How can I get additional out of the players? How can I challenge them psychologically?’’ Fuchs says of Tuchel. {'That’s a major part of our methodology 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 motivated, very keen to prove himself.'

Origins and a Resolute Mindset

Fuchs’s determination stems from his childhood 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 good 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 can not do that.’ I’m going to demonstrate that I can and give absolutely everything. The other thing about my character is: I’m pretty stubborn. If I see potential, I’m making it happen.'

Detailed Approach and the Battle 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 data from a recent 2-2 draw, displaying a slide he presented to his players. {'The team hit several season highs,' he says, emphasizing ball progression and statistics about penetrating defensive lines. Passing accuracy was logged at 87%. {'Not happy with that … that needs to be in the mid-90s,' he insists. {'My first game, it was very physical, fourth-tier football, but we want to be distinct. I think a five-yard pass has a higher probability to arrive than just hoofing it all the time.'

The broader numbers paint sobering 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 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 earned a precious point. {'We need to be a dominant side at home,' Fuchs stresses. {'It’s just not good enough, not even having a win. We need to build a stronghold.'

One of the Lads at Heart

By his own acknowledgement, Fuchs enjoys a challenge. {'What’s so bad with that?' He hung up his boots less than three years ago and, like Tuchel, loves being in the middle of the action. {'I’m a member of the group. I’m still a player at heart,' he remarks, tapping his chest. {'At training I’m always participating in the boxes – 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 as one.'