Fuchs urges Newport to take 'fire' out of Barrow game
Newport were bottom of League Two when Christian Fuchs was appointed manager last November
- Published
Christian Fuchs has urged Newport County to take the "fire" out of their final game of the season at Barrow (15:00 BST), which will decide their League Two fate.
Victory in Cumbria against the division's bottom side will guarantee Newport's survival, though they might not need to win - or even draw - if other results go their way.
The Exiles are 21st in the table, one point ahead of Crawley Town and Harrogate Town, who host Salford City and Barnet respectively on Saturday.
Barrow still have a slim chance of staying up but need to beat Newport and hope both Crawley and Harrogate lose - with a big swing in goal difference.
With so much at stake when the two sides meet at Holker Street this weekend, emotions could run high.
But after the drama of last Saturday's extraordinary 3-2 win over Oldham Athletic, Newport boss Fuchs wants his side to take the passion out of their concluding fixture.
"Why should I talk to them about what's at stake? Everybody knows that already," said the former Leicester City defender.
"It's more about the approach, what we want to implement in a game, and what the mindset needs to be.
"And to be fair, the boys were brilliant when it came to that last weekend, when they just keep pushing, believing in themselves.
"I expect them [Barrow] to come at us hard to start with and it's about us, to be resilient, to take our chances, to take as much fire out of the game as possible and just play a professional game."
Newport have their fate in their own hands thanks to last weekend's jaw-dropping win over Oldham.
Exiles forward Bobby Kamwa had a 105th-minute penalty saved, but he then scored the winning goal four minutes later to move Newport out of the relegation places.
"Going through a rollercoaster like that, coming out on top and seeing how the players celebrate with the fans, how the fans are behind us and how everybody is in the same boat, getting through a game like this can obviously lift the spirits even more," Fuchs added.
"But when we go to Barrow and we kick off that day, it's down to the basics again and doing what made us strong in those games.
"It's the basics, the intensity in the game, the strong running and then making good decisions on the ball.
"We focus on ourselves and, if we do the things that made us strong, that got us the points, that got us the wins, then we're in a good place."
