{Christian Fuchs: 'I'm Pretty Determined. When I Spot Possibility, I'm Doing It'|Former Foxes Defender Christian Fuchs Speaks Candidly on League Two Task

'I would say that the likelihood of us transforming our fortunes are lower than Leicester winning the Premier League, so they are in our favor, right?' Christian Fuchs is talking about his new life as head coach of the League Two strugglers, and the daunting task of preventing a drop into non-league football. Here lies a challenge at the polar opposite of the spectrum of success, though that miraculous title win in 2016 provided him with a great deal more than a winner's medal. {'It helped change my perspective a little bit ... it showed that the unthinkable can be possible,' he notes.

'How Did Fuchs End Up Here?'

The logical place to start is: how did Fuchs find himself here? 'That's the aspect of the story that seems counterintuitive, wouldn't you say?' he comments, breaking into a chuckle. This serves as the 39-year-old's introductory line and a clear demonstration of his engaging character across a fascinating conversation. Discourse travels in different directions, from working under Thomas Tuchel and Brendan Rodgers to the pressing need to find a nearby hairdresser.

He sorts through some correspondence on his desk. Included is a note from a Leicester supporter sending best wishes, accompanied by a couple of professional photographs from that memorable year. {'Young Fuchs,' he remarks, smiling. Another package brings a hoard of old collector's items, one from an album commemorating Euro 2016, when he captained Austria. A greeting from the Newport Supporters’ Club is displayed prominently. 'Stuff like this makes me very pleased,' he states.

A Previous Visit and a Funny Mistake

Until coming back from North Carolina to accept his first job in first-team coaching last month, Fuchs’s most recent encounter to Rodney Parade was in January 2019, when Leicester suffered a Newport giantkilling in the FA Cup third round. During that match David Pipe competed with Fuchs. {'He had the match of his career,' Fuchs recalls. But when the lineup cards were released, an interesting error was discovered. {'You need to edit this,' Fuchs says with a smile. 'They misspelled my name – somehow a 'k' found its way in in place of the 'h'. It is amusing because Fuchs, in German, means fox, so it’s something pleasant.'

Experiences from Ranieri, Rodgers and Tuchel

His choice to join the Foxes in the summer of 2015 turned out to be brilliant. A couple of weeks later Leicester brought in Claudio Ranieri and the rest is history. The Italian joined the club in the midst of a pre-season camp in Austria and his hands-off approach produced miracles. {'When you look at Claudio you imagine an elder gentleman, so long in the business, maybe a bit old school, but he’s anything but,' Fuchs states. {'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 alter anything.''

Fuchs cherishes insights gained from Rodgers and Tuchel, under whom he worked while on loan at Mainz. {'He always pondered: ‘How can I get extra out of the players? How can I test them mentally?’’ Fuchs says of Tuchel. {'That’s a significant part of our philosophy as well. How can you make good decision-makers? Back then he was probably in a analogous place to where I am now … very motivated, very anxious to prove himself.'

Roots and a Determined Nature

Fuchs’s drive originates in his childhood 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 reveals. {'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 can not do this, you can not do that.’ I’m going to prove that I can and give absolutely everything. The other thing about my personality is: I’m very stubborn. If I see potential, I’m going for it.'

Analytical Approach and the Battle for Survival

Fuchs’s assistant, Mark Smith, was born in Newport and previously led Fuchs’s Fox Soccer Academy. Fuchs fires up his laptop to show statistics from a recent 2-2 draw, sharing a slide he showed his players. {'The team hit many, many season bests,' he explains, highlighting ball progression and statistics about penetrating defensive lines. Passing accuracy was shown as 87%. {'Not happy with that … that needs to be in the mid-90s,' he insists. {'My first game, it was very long-ball, lower-league football, but we want to be different. I think a five-yard pass has a higher probability to find its target than just launching it all the time.'

The general numbers paint grim 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 93rd-minute equaliser with 10 men earned a valuable point. {'We need to be a force at home,' Fuchs stresses. {'It’s just not good enough, not even having a win. We need to create a stronghold.'

Still a Player at Heart

By his own confession, Fuchs likes 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 in here,' he remarks, tapping his chest. {'At training I’m always joining in in the small-sided games – two pannas already, yes! I want us to see each other as one team. Yes, you’re the ones on the field, but we’re a collective, we’re striving towards this collectively.'