Agony and ecstasy for Fuchs as Newport nudge to safety

In nine nerve-wracking minutes, Christian Fuchs admits he lost a few years.

Now the man who was part of Leicester City's 5,000-1 Premier League win could be just a week away of securing an unlikely EFL survival as the numbers start adding up for his Newport County side.

The Exiles were bottom of League Two and four points from safety when the ex-Austria international was appointed in his first crack at management.

It had been looking bleak for some time for the Amber Army, wondering if their 13th season at this level would have proven an unlucky one.

But, after enduring nine minutes of injury time, the weekend's 2-1 win over fellow strugglers Harrogate Town has pushed Fuchs' men four points clear with three games remaining.

"As you can imagine, it was a huge one," said Fuchs on the importance of a win secured when defender Joe Thomas turned unlikely hero with an eye-catching first goal of the season.

"We knew the importance of the game, obviously, and it was very important for the players to understand that all the feelings that you have around this game are completely normal.

"We knew what was on the line, what can be with either outcome, but the boys showed the right response.

"But I definitely lost a couple of years of my life!"

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Fuchs, 40, cannot relax yet but there is a chance Newport can seal survival this weekend should rivals Barrow slip up when they play their game in hand against Oldham Athletic on Tuesday.

Defeat for Sam Foley's side would mean Newport would head into Saturday's game at Cheltenham Town knowing three points would be enough to retain EFL status should the sides below them lose.

Fuchs, though, is not calculating any targets.

"We're just going into every game to win it," he said. "That has to be our mentality. It's not, 'Okay, let's sit back, let's see the next game out and see what happens'.

"We need to be on the front foot and being a nuisance for the opposition - when we do that, that's definitely playing to our strengths."

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