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'I reckon that the odds of us turning the season around are lower than Leicester winning the Premier League, so they are in our benefit, right?' Christian Fuchs is talking about his new life as manager of the League Two strugglers, and the monumental task of staving off a descent into non-league football. Here lies a challenge at the polar opposite of the spectrum of success, though that miraculous title win in 2016 gave him far more than a winner's medal. {'It contributed to shifting my outlook a little bit ... it proved that the unthinkable can be achievable,' he remarks.

'How Did Fuchs Wind Up Here?'

The obvious place to start is: how did Fuchs end up here? 'I guess that's the part that's illogical, right?' he comments, letting out a laugh. It is the 39-year-old's initial statement and a clear sign of his charismatic character across a colourful conversation. Discourse runs in various tangents, from being managed by the current England boss and the former Leicester manager to the pressing need to find a nearby hairdresser.

He opens some correspondence on his desk. Among it is a letter from a Leicester supporter sending best wishes, paired with a couple of shiny pictures from that campaign. {'Young Fuchs,' he says, grinning. Another delivery brings a stash of old stickers, one from an album marking Euro 2016, when he captained Austria. A card from the Newport Supporters’ Club is displayed prominently. Items like this makes me very content,' he states.

A Prior Encounter and a Misspelt Name

Until coming back from North Carolina to assume his first job in first-team coaching last month, Fuchs’s last trip to Rodney Parade was in January 2019, when Leicester endured a Newport shock defeat in the FA Cup third round. That day David Pipe competed with Fuchs. {'He had the performance of his career,' Fuchs admits. But when the official sheets were released, an curious error emerged. {'You need to edit this,' Fuchs remarks. 'They misspelled my name – somehow a 'k' crept in in place of the 'h'. It is hilarious because Fuchs, in German, means fox, so it’s something pleasant.'

Insights from Claudio, Rodgers and Tuchel

His decision to join the Foxes in the summer of 2015 was a masterstroke. A couple of weeks later Leicester hired Claudio Ranieri and what followed is legendary. The Italian arrived at the club in the midst of a pre-season camp in Austria and his observational approach worked wonders. {'When you observe Claudio you imagine an seasoned professional, so a veteran of the sport, maybe a bit set in his ways, but he’s the complete opposite,' Fuchs says. {'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 studied you for a week and I’m not going to modify anything.''

Fuchs cherishes insights gained from Rodgers and Tuchel, under whom he worked while on loan at Mainz. {'He always pondered: ‘How can I get additional out of the players? How can I test them mentally?’’ Fuchs says of Tuchel. {'That’s a major part of our philosophy as well. How can you make good decision-makers? Back then he was probably in a analogous place to where I am now … very focused, very anxious to prove himself.'

Origins and a Determined Character

Fuchs’s drive originates in his early years 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 skilled enough,' he reveals. {'There are people who let that overcome them or there are people who say: ‘Watch me, I’m going to show you.’ I’ve been told too many times: ‘You can't do this, you can't do that.’ I’m going to show that I can and put in the hard yards. The other thing about my character is: I’m pretty headstrong. If I see potential, I’m making it happen.'

Detailed Approach and the Struggle for Survival

Fuchs’s assistant, Mark Smith, was born in Newport and had been in charge of Fuchs’s Fox Soccer Academy. Fuchs opens his laptop to show data from a recent 2-2 draw, presenting a slide he showed his players. {'The team hit many, many season bests,' he points out, noting ball progression and statistics about penetrating defensive lines. Passing accuracy was recorded at 87%. {'Not happy with that … that needs to be in the 90-95% range,' he insists. {'My first game, it was very long-ball, fourth-tier football, but we want to be unique. I think a five-yard pass has a higher percentage to arrive than just launching it all the time.'

The broader numbers paint bleak reading. Newport have managed three of 19 league matches and are yet to win in eight in all competitions. By the time of their next home game, they will have not secured three points 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 emphasizes. {'It’s just not acceptable, not even having a win. We need to create a stronghold.'

One of the Lads at Heart

By his own admission, Fuchs relishes a challenge. {'What’s so wrong with that?' He ended his playing career less than three years ago and, like Tuchel, enjoys being in the middle of the action. {'I’m a component of the group. I’m still a player at heart,' he remarks, indicating his chest. {'At training I’m always joining in in the small-sided games – two nutmegs already, yes! I want us to see each other as a unified group. Yes, you’re the ones on the field, but we’re all in this together, we’re working on this as one.'