🔗 Share this article

'I would say that the odds of us reviving our campaign are lower than Leicester winning the Premier League, so they are in our favour, right?' The Austrian veteran is discussing his fresh chapter as head coach of the Football League's bottom club, and the monumental task of preventing a descent into non-league football. Here lies a challenge at the complete other end of the scale, though that unbelievable title win in 2016 furnished him much more than a winner's medal. {'It assisted in altering my perspective a little bit ... it proved that the unthinkable can be achievable,' he states.

The Unlikely Path to Rodney Parade

The natural place to start is: how did Fuchs end up here? 'That's the part of the story that defies logic, wouldn't you say?' he comments, erupting in a laugh. This serves as the 39-year-old's initial statement and a clear demonstration of his engaging character across a wide-ranging conversation. The discussion travels 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. Included is a letter from a Leicester supporter offering encouragement, along with a couple of shiny pictures from that memorable year. {'Young Fuchs,' he says, smiling. Another envelope brings a collection of old stickers, one from an album marking Euro 2016, when he skippered Austria. A greeting from the Newport Supporters’ Club has pride of place. Items like this really makes me very happy,' he concludes.

A Prior Encounter and a Typographical Error

Prior to his move back from North Carolina to accept his first job in first-team coaching last month, Fuchs’s last trip to Rodney Parade was in January 2019, when Leicester endured a Newport shock defeat in the FA Cup third round. On that occasion David Pipe faced off against Fuchs. {'He had the match of his career,' Fuchs says. But when the official sheets came out, an curious error came to light. {'You need to censor this,' Fuchs says with a smile. 'They misspelled my name – somehow a 'k' found its way in in place of the 'h'. It is hilarious because Fuchs, in German, means fox, so it’s something nice.'

Experiences from The Tinkerman, Rodgers and Tuchel

His move to join the Foxes in the summer of 2015 proved a masterstroke. A couple of weeks later Leicester brought in Claudio Ranieri and an iconic story unfolded. 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 observe Claudio you envision an elder gentleman, so long in the business, maybe a bit traditional, but he’s anything but,' Fuchs explains. {'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 watched you for a week and I’m not going to change anything.''

Fuchs cherishes experiences from Rodgers and Tuchel, under whom he worked while on loan at Mainz. {'He always considered: ‘How can I get extra out of the players? How can I push them psychologically?’’ Fuchs says of Tuchel. {'That’s a significant part of our philosophy 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 driven, very anxious to prove himself.'

Background and a Stubborn Nature

Fuchs’s determination comes 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 reveals. {'There are people who let that overcome them or there are people who say: ‘Forget you, I’m going to show you.’ I’ve been told too many times: ‘You can not do this, you cannot do that.’ I’m going to prove that I can and work my socks off. The other thing about my character is: I’m quite determined. If I see possibility, I’m going for it.'

Analytical Approach and the Fight 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, presenting a slide he used with his players. {'The team hit numerous season peaks,' he points out, noting 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 states. {'My first game, it was very physical, League Two football, but we want to be different. I think a five-yard pass has a higher probability to find its target than just hoofing it all the time.'

The broader numbers paint bleak reading. Newport have secured 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 valuable point. {'We need to be a dominant side at home,' Fuchs says. {'It’s just not satisfactory, not even having a win. We need to build a impenetrable home.'

In the Thick of It at Heart

By his own acknowledgement, Fuchs relishes a challenge. {'What’s so bad 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 member of the group. I’m still a player inside,' he states, indicating his chest. {'At training I’m always getting involved in the drills – two pannas already, brilliant! 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.'