🔗 Share this article

'I would say that the chances of us reviving our campaign are slimmer than Leicester winning the Premier League, so they are in our favor, right?' The Austrian veteran is talking about his new life as head coach of the League Two strugglers, and the daunting task of staving off a descent into non-league football. Here lies 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 helped change my perspective a little bit ... it proved that the unattainable can be achievable,' he states.

The Unlikely Path to Rodney Parade

The natural place to start is: what was the journey that led Fuchs find himself here? 'That's the part of the story that seems counterintuitive, wouldn't you say?' he states, erupting in laughter. It is the 39-year-old's introductory line and a clear indication of his engaging character across a wide-ranging conversation. The discussion flows in various tangents, from being managed by Thomas Tuchel and Brendan Rodgers to the pressing need to find a nearby hairdresser.

He sorts through some correspondence on his desk. There is a note from a Leicester supporter sending best wishes, paired with a couple of professional photographs from that campaign. {'Young Fuchs,' he says, with a smile. Another envelope brings a collection of old stickers, one from an album commemorating Euro 2016, when he skippered Austria. A card from the Newport Supporters’ Club has pride of place. 'Stuff like this makes me very happy,' he states.

A Past Trip and a Funny Mistake

Prior to returning from North Carolina to take on 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 cupset in the FA Cup third round. During that match a former full-back duelled against Fuchs. {'He had the performance of his career,' Fuchs recalls. But when the teamsheets were released, an interesting error was discovered. {'You need to redact this,' Fuchs jokes. 'They got wrong 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 pleasant.'

Insights from Ranieri, Rodgers and Tuchel

His move to join the Foxes in the summer of 2015 turned out to be inspired. A couple of weeks later Leicester brought in Claudio Ranieri and the rest is history. The Italian arrived at the club in the middle of a pre-season camp in Austria and his observational approach worked wonders. {'When you look at Claudio you envision an older man, so long in the business, maybe a bit traditional, but he’s so not,' 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 observed you for a week and I’m not going to alter 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 test them psychologically?’’ Fuchs says of Tuchel. {'That’s a big part of our methodology as well. How can you make good players who choose wisely? Back then he was probably in a analogous place to where I am now … very driven, very anxious to prove himself.'

Roots and a Resolute Nature

Fuchs’s motivation comes from his early years 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 discloses. {'There are people who let that defeat them or there are people who say: ‘Forget you, I’m going to show you.’ I’ve been told too many times: ‘You can't do this, you can't do that.’ I’m going to show that I can and work my socks off. The other thing about my character is: I’m very stubborn. If I see promise, I’m doing it.'

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 analytics from a recent 2-2 draw, sharing a slide he presented to his players. {'The team hit several season peaks,' he explains, emphasizing 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 mid-90s,' he insists. {'My first game, it was very direct, League Two football, but we want to be distinct. I think a five-yard pass has a higher percentage to find its target than just launching it all the time.'

The general numbers present grim 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 injury-time equaliser with 10 men garnered a crucial point. {'We need to be a dominant side at home,' Fuchs says. {'It’s just not good enough, not even having a win. We need to construct a fortress.'

In the Thick of It at Heart

By his own confession, Fuchs likes a challenge. {'What’s so wrong with that?' He ended his playing career less than three years ago and, like Tuchel, enjoys being in the middle of the action. {'I’m a part of the group. I’m still a player inside,' he remarks, indicating his chest. {'At training I’m always getting involved in the small-sided games – 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 a collective, we’re striving towards this collectively.'