🔗 Share this article

'The probability of a late surge is arguably a longer shot than that fabled 5,000-1 title, which logically puts the odds in our corner.' The Austrian veteran is reflecting on his fresh chapter as manager of the Football League's bottom club, and the monumental task of averting a drop into non-league football. Here lies a challenge at the complete other end of the spectrum, though that unbelievable title win in 2016 furnished him much more than a winner's medal. {'It assisted in altering my mindset a little bit ... it proved that the unthinkable can be possible,' he remarks.

The Unlikely Path to Rodney Parade

The natural place to start is: what was the journey that led Fuchs wind up here? 'That's the element of the story that isn't straightforward, wouldn't you say?' he comments, breaking into a laugh. It is the 39-year-old's initial statement and a clear sign of his playful character across a fascinating conversation. The discussion flows in different directions, from playing for Thomas Tuchel and Brendan Rodgers to the immediate requirement to find a local barber.

He opens 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 memorable year. {'Young Fuchs,' he muses, smiling. Another package brings a hoard of old Panini stickers, one from an album marking Euro 2016, when he led Austria. A note from the Newport Supporters’ Club is given special attention. Things like this really makes me very content,' he concludes.

A Prior Encounter and a Typographical Error

Prior to his move back from North Carolina to take on his first job in first-team coaching last month, Fuchs’s most recent encounter to Rodney Parade was in January 2019, when Leicester were on the end of a Newport cupset in the FA Cup third round. During that match the Newport kit man faced off against Fuchs. {'He had the match of his career,' Fuchs says. But when the teamsheets dropped, an curious error came to light. {'You need to edit this,' Fuchs remarks. 'They misspelt 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 fitting.'

Experiences from Claudio, Rodgers and Tuchel

His decision to join the Foxes in the summer of 2015 proved a masterstroke. A couple of weeks later Leicester appointed Claudio Ranieri and what followed is legendary. The Italian came to the club in the middle of a pre-season camp in Austria and his observational approach did the trick. {'When you look at Claudio you imagine an elder gentleman, so long in the business, maybe a bit set in his ways, but he’s anything but,' Fuchs states. {'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 change anything.''

Fuchs values lessons learned from Rodgers and Tuchel, under whom he worked while on loan at Mainz. {'He always thought: ‘How can I get more out of the players? How can I test them psychologically?’’ Fuchs says of Tuchel. {'That’s a major part of our philosophy as well. How can you make good players who choose wisely? Back then he was probably in a comparable position to where I am now … very driven, very eager to prove himself.'

Background and a Determined Mindset

Fuchs’s drive originates in 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 overcome them or there are people who say: ‘Watch me, I’m going to show you.’ I’ve been told too many times: ‘You can't do this, you cannot do that.’ I’m going to prove that I can and work my socks off. The other thing about my make-up is: I’m quite headstrong. If I see possibility, I’m making it happen.'

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 peaks,' he points out, noting 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, fourth-tier football, but we want to be unique. I think a five-yard pass has a higher chance to find its target than just launching it all the time.'

The general numbers make sobering reading. Newport have won three of 19 league matches and are yet to win 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 garnered a precious point. {'We need to be a force at home,' Fuchs emphasizes. {'It’s just not satisfactory, not even having a win. We need to construct a impenetrable home.'

Still a Player at Heart

By his own admission, Fuchs relishes 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, tapping his chest. {'At training I’m always joining in in the boxes – two nutmegs already, get in! I want us to view each other as one team. Yes, you’re the ones on the field, but we’re a collective, we’re striving towards this as one.'