{Christian Fuchs: 'I'm Pretty Headstrong. If I See Possibility, I'm Going for It'|Former Foxes Defender Christian Fuchs Speaks Candidly on League Two Challenge

'I reckon that the likelihood of us turning the season around are slimmer than Leicester winning the Premier League, so they are in our favor, right?' Christian Fuchs is talking about his fresh chapter as boss of the League Two strugglers, and the daunting task of preventing a drop into non-league football. Here lies a challenge at the complete other end of the spectrum, though that fairytale 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 attainable,' he remarks.

The Surprising Path to Rodney Parade

The logical place to start is: what brought Fuchs wind up here? 'That's the aspect of the story that seems counterintuitive, wouldn't you say?' he comments, erupting in a chuckle. It is the 39-year-old's initial statement and a clear indication of his charismatic character across a wide-ranging conversation. Discourse runs in multiple pathways, from playing for the current England boss and Brendan Rodgers to the urgent quest to find a nearby hairdresser.

He opens some mail on his desk. There is a note from a Leicester supporter offering encouragement, paired with a couple of glossy photos from that campaign. {'Young Fuchs,' he muses, smiling. Another envelope brings a hoard of old collector's items, one from an album celebrating Euro 2016, when he skippered Austria. A note from the Newport Supporters’ Club has pride of place. Items like this genuinely makes me very content,' he concludes.

A Previous Visit and a Misspelt Name

Prior to returning from North Carolina to accept his first job in frontline management last month, Fuchs’s previous visit to Rodney Parade was in January 2019, when Leicester were on the end of a Newport giantkilling in the FA Cup third round. During that match the Newport kit man competed with Fuchs. {'He had the game of his life,' Fuchs recalls. But when the teamsheets were released, an amusing error emerged. {'You need to censor this,' Fuchs says with a smile. 'They got wrong my name – somehow a 'k' smuggled itself in in place of the 'h'. It is funny because Fuchs, in German, means fox, so it’s something fitting.'

Lessons from Claudio, Rodgers and Tuchel

His decision to join the Foxes in the summer of 2015 turned out to be a masterstroke. A couple of weeks later Leicester brought in Claudio Ranieri and what followed is legendary. The Italian joined the club in the middle of a pre-season camp in Austria and his hands-off approach worked wonders. {'When you see Claudio you imagine an older man, so a veteran of the sport, maybe a bit traditional, but he’s the complete opposite,' 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 change anything.''

Fuchs values lessons learned 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 push them psychologically?’’ Fuchs says of Tuchel. {'That’s a significant part of our methodology as well. How can you make good decision-makers? Back then he was probably in a analogous place to where I am now … very focused, very eager to prove himself.'

Origins and a Resolute Mindset

Fuchs’s motivation stems from his upbringing 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 skilled enough,' he reveals. {'There are people who let that defeat them or there are people who say: ‘Watch me, I’m going to show you.’ I’ve been told too many times: ‘You cannot 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 very determined. 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 had been in charge of 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 many, many season peaks,' he points out, noting ball progression and statistics about breaking defensive lines. Passing accuracy was recorded at 87%. {'Not happy with that … that needs to be in the mid-90s,' he states. {'My first game, it was very direct, fourth-tier football, but we want to be distinct. I think a five-yard pass has a higher chance to arrive than just launching it all the time.'

The broader numbers paint bleak reading. Newport have secured 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 secured three points 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 says. {'It’s just not good enough, not even having a win. We need to create a stronghold.'

One of the Lads at Heart

By his own acknowledgement, Fuchs enjoys a challenge. {'What’s so negative with that?' He hung up his boots less than three years ago and, like Tuchel, loves being in the heart of the battle. {'I’m a member of the group. I’m still a player inside,' he says, indicating his chest. {'At training I’m always joining in in the small-sided games – two pannas already, brilliant! I want us to regard each other as a unified group. Yes, you’re the ones on the field, but we’re a collective, we’re working on this collectively.'