Newport County

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Newport County head coach Christian Fuchs says the return of Wales international Matt Smith from injury will add an "extra layer of quality" to their midfield.

The 26-year-old has been out since late August, but returned on Saturday as 10-man County were beaten 2-0 at home by Fleetwood.

Defeat means Newport are still without a home league win this season, and they remain rooted to the bottom of the League Two table.

Despite the loss, Fuchs praised his side's effort - particularly after Michael Spellman's red card - and said how pleased he was to have Smith back.

"He's a good player, unfortunately he was out for a bit but I'm so pleased he's back," said Fuchs.

"He gives us an extra layer of confidence and quality in midfield which we need.

"The effort is absolutely there, now it's about keeping spirits high."

While Newport are boosted by Smith's return, the Exiles are set to be without Gerard Garner and Nathaniel Opoku after the forwards both suffered muscle injuries.

"It doesn't look too good unfortunately," said Fuchs.

"Nathan will have a scan on Monday to see how severe the injury is.

"Ged may be out for a couple weeks, so we will work with what we have."

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Newport County boss Christian Fuchs wants to move fast to secure January signings for their bid for League Two survival.

The former Leicester and Austria defender was appointed as manager in November after David Hughes was sacked.

Newport are bottom of League Two, four points from safety, and hunt a first home win of the season against Fleetwood this afternoon (15:00 GMT).

County then have a break until a hectic run of five games in 16 days starts at Colchester on Saturday, 20 December.

Fuchs will hope the club are in a stronger position in the table by the time the transfer window opens on 1 January, allowing him to bolster the squad before the 2 February deadline..

"We are looking at certain positions where we definitely want to bring some new players in, also players that we want to keep," said the 2016 Premier League winner.

"It's early stages. There have been some conversations, but nothing more than that."

Fuchs said that talks have started about extending the stays of Leicester loanees Sammy Braybrooke and Nathan Opoku, while he has been looking at footage of potential signings.

"We need to move fairly fast because we want to bring them in as soon as possible so that they can train with us and be amongst the team, then push forward starting from January," he said.

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Newport County manager Christian Fuchs believes his side have shown they have the fighting spirit to break their Rodney Parade duck against Fleetwood on Saturday (15:00 GMT).

County are bottom of League Two, four points from safety, but showed grit to draw 2-2 at Crewe on Wednesday night.

Three days after producing an insipid performance as they were knocked out of the FA Cup by Boreham Wood 3-0, the Exiles fought back from going a goal behind twice and levelled in added time through Cameron Antwi's deflected shot.

That was despite being a man down because of Courtney Baker-Richardson's harsh dismissal for two yellow cards – a sending off that County cannot appeal – to leave Fuchs encouraged.

"Since I came in the one thing that I needed to address right away was the mindset of the players," said Fuchs, who replaced David Hughes last month.

"The one thing that happened many times before would be that after conceding there would be no fight or resilience. After the red card and when we went down 2-1, the team has shown a different face. They didn't want to give up.

"That was a game of character. The day before we had a very good conversation as a group where we addressed many things and honest words were spoken.

"The important part was that words are cheap, but we followed up with actions with phenomenal resilience and character."

Newport have not won on home soil since beating Harrogate 3-0 on 15 March.

They ended 2024-25 with five winless games on their ground and that run has stretched to 18 in all competitions, although they did beat Gillingham on penalties in the FA Cup.

Last time out they were denied victory in Fuchs' first Rodney Parade fixture by a late Barrow equaliser, and an even later decision not to award a penalty.

After seeing his team dig deep at Gresty Road, Fuchs says his side must not let standards slip.

"There were great feelings coming off after hard work but we need to continue that momentum," he said. "At home against Fleetwood, we need to keep going.

"Fans saw the spirit in the team and that is something everybody can hang on to. It's our responsibility now to continue on that path.

"You need to earn the right to win and even be in the game, it doesn't come served on a silver plate."

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Christian Fuchs says his side will travel to Meadow Park with full belief as they prepare for Sunday's FA Cup second-round clash with Boreham Wood FC.

The Exiles manager knows the competition well, having lifted the trophy with Leicester City in the 2020–21 season, and says his approach to the cup has not changed.

"I said it from the very beginning when I came in – every competition matters to us, and we approach each one wanting to win," Fuchs told BBC Sport Wales.

"We'll be putting out a very competitive team on Sunday because we're going there to win."

Fuchs believes he is already witnessing significant progress in his squad, describing the improvement as "night and day".

"I'm very happy with what I've seen," he added. "It was the first step in the right direction. There's still a lot of improvement to come – otherwise the last game would probably have gone in our favour.

"Compared to what I saw previously, it was night and day. We'll keep working and there's much more to come from the boys."

Newport, without a League Two win since their 3–0 victory over Harrogate in late October, will hope a positive result this weekend can spark momentum under their new manager and translate into league form.

The third round of the FA Cup draw will be made on Monday, 8 December 2025, at approximately 18:40 GMT.

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Newport County manager Christian Fuchs has named Adam Mullany as the club's new goalkeeping coach.

The Exiles are bottom of League Two and have conceded 33 goals in 18 league games - the most of any team.

Mullany replaces Lee Kendall, who a club statement said has "departed the club due to personal reasons".

Mullany steps up from the same role with the Newport academy, having previously worked with Swansea City and Cymru Premier side Barry Town United.

Mullany's first game with the County first team will be Sunday's FA Cup second-round match away at National League Boreham Wood.

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Anthony Glennon feels Newport County showed a "massive improvement" in Christian Fuchs' second match as manager as the Exiles drew 2-2 with Barrow.

Glennon's free-kick along with Courtney Baker-Richardson's effort twice put the hosts in front at Rodney Parade, but on each occasion, Barrow responded with goals from Ben Whitfield and Scott Smith.

Despite failing to hold on for what would have been a first home league victory of the season, Glennon feels the Exiles made significant strides following their 3-0 defeat by Oldham Athletic in Fuchs' opening game as boss.

"It's the same group of players, the same squad and these things happen, but you get a bounce and that kind of thing happens in football," he said.

"But it's different ideas and a fresh start, if you like.

"From last week it's a massive improvement. We showed a lot of composure in playing out from the back and tried new things. That's only in a week of work, so hopefully it'll get better from here."

Newport remain at the foot of the League Two table following a wretched start to the campaign under Dave Hughes - who was sacked in the immediate aftermath of the Exiles' 1-0 loss to Shrewsbury Town on 15 November.

And Glennon feels Newport are already showing signs of progressing under former Austria left-back Fuchs.

"It's a chance for everyone to impress again, it's just a clean slate. Everyone's trying to get their confidence back," he added.

"Every manager has different things that they want to do, and in terms of playing out from the back, we tried it a lot more today (against Barrow).

"Sometimes it's difficult, late on in a game when you're winning, you're 2-1 up and you think 'let's just get up the pitch'.

"But the lads stuck to it, and I think we did it pretty well."

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Christian Fuchs feels Newport County's performance in the 2-2 draw with Barrow will have given fans hope that the club can preserve their League Two status this season.

The Exiles twice surrendered the lead against the Bluebirds, but ultimately claimed their first point since Fuchs was named as Dave Hughes' successor at Rodney Parade.

"We wanted to get the fans on board right away. How they have supported the team was incredible," said Fuchs.

"They have been suffering as much as we did over quite a stretch now.

"We created some sort of hope amongst everybody, especially with the team, they (fans) have seen what they are capable of doing.

"The starting point was today and now we'll move forward."

Newport remain at the bottom of the League Two table and are five points adrift of safety having played 18 league matches this season.

But former Austria international Fuchs feels his side showed plenty of encouraging signs against Barrow following their 3-0 loss to Oldham Athletic in his first match as manager a week earlier.

"We made a lot of improvements compared to the weekend before," Fuchs added.

"The boys took everything at heart and played good football in my eyes.

"What you've seen today was a team that has good quality and is brave on the ball.

"It's just the beginning, we've worked together for just one week. In my eyes, it's a massive improvement.

"We'll keep working and address what the issues were and how we can be defensively better, but overall, a top performance from the boys."

Image source, BBC Sport

Newport County's wait for a home League Two win this season continued on Saturday as they were held to a 2-2 draw by Barrow.

It was a first home game at Rodney Parade for new manager Christian Fuchs, whose side twice took the lead in the game.

A point means it is now two draws and seven defeats from nine home league games this season.

So how would you assess County's start to life under Fuchs? And were there signs of encouragement against Barrow?

Have your say here!

Luke Hemmings
BBC Sport Wales

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Newport County captain Lee Jenkins insists the Exiles aren't a 'bottom of the league team' - and are ready to prove it under new boss Christian Fuchs.

Former Leicester City defender Fuchs was named Newport manager last week with the club sitting at the foot of the League Two table.

He takes charge of his first home game on Saturday when County host Barrow (15:00 GMT), with Jenkins admitting victory against their 17th-placed opponents can kick-start Newport's season.

Newport are yet to win at home so far this term, but centre-back Jenkins said: "The boys do believe that we can go higher than we are at the moment and we all know that we're not a bottom of the league team.

"Hopefully we'll see in the next few weeks that the things Christian [Fuchs] and [assistant manager] Mark Smith have put on the training ground will bring it all together and start getting the results we've been missing.

"It'd be a massive thing to get that first win [at home]. I'd just love to see the fans' reaction to the final whistle if we can get the win.

Jenkins arrived at Newport from Cymru Premier side Haverfordwest County in the summer, making 17 league starts.

And the 24-year-old has quickly established himself as a leader within the group, something he is relishing.

"It's big to captain this club, a big achievement to walk out as captain and I was honoured when I got given it," he said.

"If you've got an armband on your arm it doesn't mean there's any added pressure.

"You've just got to keep the boys together and go out there and make sure we're all going out there as a team and trying to get a result at the end of the day."

Having made the step up from the Welsh system, Jenkins admits there have been challenges in adapting to League Two particularly due to the intensity of the League.

"The Cymru Premier is a good standard, but the English set-up is different. Everyone's full-time," he said.

"I've taken everything that's come at me the best I could."

Still only in the early stages of his league career, Jenkins retains the long term ambition of representing Wales one day.

"I'm Welsh through and through," Jenkins said.

"Playing for Wales would be the icing on the cake one day."

For now, his focus is on turning belief into results for the Exiles, adding: "Hopefully we get that first win and then they'll start rolling in.

"It would be massive for everyone — players, fans, the whole club."

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Premier League winner Christian Fuchs has the task of keeping Newport County in the Football League – but fans have mixed views on whether he can pull it off.

The former Leicester City defender has replaced Dave Hughes at Rodney Parade and took charge of his first game in the Exiles' 3-0 defeat at Oldham Athletic.

With the side five points adrift at the bottom of League Two, we asked for your views on whether Fuchs could engineer a 'Great Escape'. Here are a selection of your responses.

Steve: Christian Fuchs has never done a job like this before. Why should he be any different from the last one?

Carl: I will say yes. We must stop these individual mistakes, take responsibility, and shoot instead of looking for others to have a go. Let's get behind Christian.

Chris: I want to be positive, but it's hard to keep on doing so. Another appointment with no managerial experience does seem like repeating the same mistakes. The appointment could work, but 'could' isn't good enough in the current situation.

Ade: He's been left the same tools David Hughes had. Over to the chairman for new investment and clearance. Fuchs has experience so maybe, just maybe.

Carl: The players are simply not good enough for this league. You can be the best manager around but if you don't have the players – i.e a bit of quality and a bit of old school player knowledge - the same outcome is inevitable.

Terry: No, he won't. By the time the next transfer window opens, Newport will have played for another 18 points. Should they not earn at least 12 of those, then the National League beckons with the chance next season of a Newport v Merthyr Town Welsh derby!

Chris: No he lacks experience at that level. Newport will be relegated. They should have gone for a proven coach at that level, but they've gone for a sticking plaster.

Jamie: Fresh eyes but they will need to focus quickly. A couple of wins at home may help.

Clive: Long way to go, but it can be done. A few good results will do the trick.

Mark: It's five points not 15 and loads of games to go. We have to believe in this manager and hopefully come January he will be able to bring in players he wants to improve the squad.

Trev: Fuchs needs to get the defence organised. We need to start picking up points and with 29 games to go, it's possible for us to move up the league but we need some back-to-back wins soon along with backing in the transfer window.

Paul: For a guy with no experience in the trenches of League 2, this is an incredible task ahead. Christian needs support from the chairman not just words. Need a few old heads who are battle hardened in this league. The only way is up!

Image source, BBC Sport

New Newport County manager Christian Fuchs watched his team lose 3-0 at Oldham Athletic in his first match in charge.

It means County remain bottom of League Two after 17 games - five points adrift of safety.

But can Fuchs inspire a great escape, to repeat their efforts in 2017 when County stayed up on the final day of the season having been 11 points away from safety in March of that year?

Have your say here!