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'I estimate that the odds of us reviving our campaign are less than Leicester lifting the Premier League, so they are in our favour, right?' Christian Fuchs is discussing his recent venture as manager of the League Two strugglers, and the daunting task of averting a descent into non-league football. This represents a challenge at the complete other end of the spectrum of success, though that miraculous title win in 2016 furnished him far more than a winner's medal. {'It helped change my outlook a little bit ... it showed that the impossible can be attainable,' he notes.

'How Did Fuchs Find Himself Here?'

The obvious place to start is: what was the journey that led Fuchs find himself here? 'That's the aspect of the story that defies logic, wouldn't you say?' he says, breaking into a chuckle. This serves as the 39-year-old's initial statement and a clear demonstration of his engaging character across a wide-ranging conversation. Discourse travels in multiple pathways, from working under the current England boss and the former Leicester manager to the urgent quest to find a nearby hairdresser.

He looks at some mail on his desk. Included is a message from a Leicester supporter sending best wishes, paired with a couple of professional photographs from that memorable year. {'Young Fuchs,' he muses, grinning. Another envelope brings a collection of old Panini stickers, one from an album marking Euro 2016, when he led Austria. A note from the Newport Supporters’ Club is displayed prominently. 'Stuff like this really makes me very pleased,' he adds.

A Past Trip and a Typographical Error

Until returning from North Carolina to assume his first job in first-team coaching last month, Fuchs’s most recent encounter to Rodney Parade was in January 2019, when Leicester endured a Newport shock defeat in the FA Cup third round. That day the Newport kit man faced off against Fuchs. {'He had the match of his career,' Fuchs recalls. But when the lineup cards dropped, an interesting error came to light. {'You need to censor this,' Fuchs jokes. 'They misspelt my name – somehow a 'k' crept in in place of the 'h'. It is funny because Fuchs, in German, means fox, so it’s something fitting.'

Lessons from Ranieri, 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 hired Claudio Ranieri and what followed is legendary. The Italian arrived at the club in the heart of a pre-season camp in Austria and his light-touch approach did the trick. {'When you observe Claudio you imagine an older man, so long in the business, maybe a bit set in his ways, but he’s anything but,' Fuchs explains. {'He just said he was going to observe training in Austria for the first week. He stayed out of it at all. After that week we had a meeting and he said: 'I’ve observed 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 thought: ‘How can I get more out of the players? How can I challenge them psychologically?’’ Fuchs says of Tuchel. {'That’s a significant part of our approach as well. How can you make good thinkers on the pitch? Back then he was probably in a similar situation to where I am now … very focused, very keen to prove himself.'

Origins and a Stubborn Mindset

Fuchs’s motivation originates in his early years 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 overcome them or there are people who say: ‘Fuchs you, I’m going to show you.’ I’ve been told too many times: ‘You cannot do this, you can't do that.’ I’m going to show that I can and give absolutely everything. The other thing about my make-up is: I’m pretty determined. If I see possibility, I’m going for it.'

Data-Driven Approach and the Struggle 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 data from a recent 2-2 draw, sharing a slide he presented to his players. {'The team hit numerous season bests,' he points out, emphasizing ball progression and statistics about getting behind defensive lines. Passing accuracy was logged at 87%. {'Not happy with that … that needs to be in the 90-95% range,' he insists. {'My first game, it was very direct, League Two football, but we want to be distinct. I think a five-yard pass has a higher percentage to arrive than just launching it all the time.'

The overarching numbers make grim reading. Newport have secured three of 19 league matches and are winless in eight in all competitions. By the time of their next home game, they will have not won a game 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 secured a crucial point. {'We need to be a force at home,' Fuchs says. {'It’s just not satisfactory, not even having a win. We need to build a stronghold.'

In the Thick of It at Heart

By his own acknowledgement, Fuchs relishes a challenge. {'What’s so wrong with that?' He hung up his boots less than three years ago and, like Tuchel, loves being in the thick of things. {'I’m a component of the group. I’m still a player in here,' he says, indicating his chest. {'At training I’m always getting involved in the boxes – two pannas already, brilliant! I want us to regard each other as a single unit. Yes, you’re the ones on the field, but we’re a collective, we’re working on this collectively.'