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'I reckon that the odds of us turning the season around are less than Leicester lifting the Premier League, so they are in our favor, right?' Christian Fuchs is discussing his fresh chapter as manager of the League Two strugglers, and the monumental task of averting a drop into non-league football. It is a challenge at the complete other end of the spectrum of success, though that miraculous title win in 2016 furnished him much more than a champion's gong. {'It helped change my outlook a little bit ... it showed that the unattainable can be attainable,' he remarks.

The Unlikely Path to Rodney Parade

The obvious place to start is: what brought Fuchs end up here? 'I imagine that's the part that's illogical, right?' he says, erupting in laughter. This serves as the 39-year-old's opening gambit and a clear indication of his charismatic character across a wide-ranging conversation. Our talk flows in different directions, from working under the current England boss and Brendan Rodgers to the immediate requirement to find a nearby hairdresser.

He opens some mail on his desk. Included is a letter from a Leicester supporter offering encouragement, accompanied by a couple of glossy photos from that memorable year. {'Young Fuchs,' he says, grinning. Another package brings a stash of old stickers, one from an album celebrating Euro 2016, when he captained Austria. A note from the Newport Supporters’ Club is displayed prominently. Things like this really makes me very happy,' he adds.

A Previous Visit and a Funny Mistake

Until returning from North Carolina to take on his first job in first-team coaching last month, Fuchs’s last trip to Rodney Parade was in January 2019, when Leicester suffered a Newport cupset in the FA Cup third round. During that match David Pipe duelled against Fuchs. {'He had the game of his life,' Fuchs says. But when the teamsheets dropped, an interesting error was discovered. {'You need to censor this,' Fuchs says with a smile. 'They misspelt my name – somehow a 'k' crept in in place of the 'h'. It is amusing because Fuchs, in German, means fox, so it’s something fitting.'

Lessons from The Tinkerman, Rodgers and Tuchel

His choice to join the Foxes in the summer of 2015 proved brilliant. A couple of weeks later Leicester brought in Claudio Ranieri and the rest is history. The Italian joined the club in the heart of a pre-season camp in Austria and his hands-off approach produced miracles. {'When you observe Claudio you envision an older man, so a veteran of the sport, maybe a bit set in his ways, but he’s so not,' Fuchs explains. {'He just said he was going to observe training in Austria for the first week. He didn’t get involved at all. After that week we had a meeting and he said: 'I’ve watched you for a week and I’m not going to modify anything.''

Fuchs values lessons learned 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 test them mentally?’’ Fuchs says of Tuchel. {'That’s a major part of our methodology as well. How can you make good players who choose wisely? Back then he was probably in a comparable position to where I am now … very motivated, very keen to prove himself.'

Origins and a Resolute Mindset

Fuchs’s determination originates in his upbringing in Neunkirchen. {'There are parallels to where we are now, because I was told when I was 11 years old that I would never be capable enough,' he discloses. {'There are people who let that defeat them or there are people who say: ‘Forget you, I’m going to show you.’ I’ve been told too many times: ‘You can not do this, you can't do that.’ I’m going to prove that I can and work my socks off. The other thing about my personality is: I’m pretty headstrong. If I see promise, I’m doing it.'

Analytical Approach and the Battle 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 analytics from a recent 2-2 draw, sharing a slide he presented to his players. {'The team hit several season highs,' he explains, emphasizing ball progression and statistics about getting behind defensive lines. Passing accuracy was recorded at 87%. {'Not pleased with that … that needs to be in the 90-95% range,' he states. {'My first game, it was very physical, fourth-tier football, but we want to be distinct. I think a five-yard pass has a higher probability to arrive than just hoofing it all the time.'

The overarching numbers make bleak reading. Newport have managed three of 19 league matches and are without a victory in eight in all competitions. By the time of their next home game, they will have not tasted victory 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 garnered a crucial point. {'We need to be a power at home,' Fuchs stresses. {'It’s just not satisfactory, not even having a win. We need to construct a stronghold.'

In the Thick of It at Heart

By his own acknowledgement, Fuchs relishes a challenge. {'What’s so wrong with that?' He ended his playing career less than three years ago and, like Tuchel, loves being in the middle of the action. {'I’m a member of the group. I’m still a player at heart,' he states, tapping his chest. {'At training I’m always participating in the boxes – two nutmegs already, brilliant! I want us to view each other as a single unit. Yes, you’re the ones on the field, but we’re a collective, we’re striving towards this together.'