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'I reckon that the odds of us reviving our campaign are lower than Leicester lifting the Premier League, so they are in our favor, right?' Christian Fuchs is talking about his new life as boss of the League Two strugglers, and the daunting task of preventing a fall into non-league football. Here lies a challenge at the polar opposite of the spectrum, though that unbelievable title win in 2016 gave him much more than a winner's medal. {'It contributed to shifting my perspective a little bit ... it proved that the unthinkable can be attainable,' he notes.

The Unlikely Path to Rodney Parade

The obvious place to start is: how did Fuchs end up here? 'I suppose that's the part that's not logical, right?' he comments, erupting in a laugh. This serves as the 39-year-old's opening gambit and a clear demonstration of his engaging character across a colourful conversation. The discussion travels in different directions, from playing for Thomas Tuchel and the former Leicester manager to the urgent quest to find a nearby hairdresser.

He sorts through some correspondence on his desk. There is a letter from a Leicester supporter sending best wishes, along with a couple of glossy photos from that memorable year. {'Young Fuchs,' he remarks, smiling. Another envelope brings a stash of old Panini stickers, one from an album celebrating Euro 2016, when he captained Austria. A card from the Newport Supporters’ Club is displayed prominently. 'Stuff like this genuinely makes me very happy,' he concludes.

A Prior Encounter and a Typographical Error

Prior to his move back from North Carolina to assume his first job in frontline management 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. That day a former full-back duelled against Fuchs. {'He had the game of his career,' Fuchs admits. But when the official sheets were released, an interesting error emerged. {'You need to edit this,' Fuchs says with a smile. 'They misspelt my name – somehow a 'k' found its way in in place of the 'h'. It is amusing because Fuchs, in German, means fox, so it’s something fitting.'

Experiences from Ranieri, Rodgers and Tuchel

His choice to join the Foxes in the summer of 2015 was brilliant. A couple of weeks later Leicester hired Claudio Ranieri and the rest is history. The Italian arrived at the club in the heart of a pre-season camp in Austria and his hands-off approach did the trick. {'When you observe Claudio you imagine an elder gentleman, so experienced in the game, maybe a bit old school, but he’s the complete opposite,' Fuchs says. {'He just said he was going to watch 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 watched you for a week and I’m not going to alter anything.''

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

Origins and a Stubborn Mindset

Fuchs’s drive 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 get the better of them or there are people who say: ‘Fuchs you, I’m going to show you.’ I’ve been told too many times: ‘You can't do this, you can not do that.’ I’m going to prove that I can and give absolutely everything. The other thing about my make-up is: I’m very determined. If I see promise, I’m doing it.'

Data-Driven Approach and the Battle for Survival

Fuchs’s assistant, Mark Smith, was born in Newport and formerly ran Fuchs’s Fox Soccer Academy. Fuchs boots up his laptop to show data from a recent 2-2 draw, presenting a slide he used with his players. {'The team hit many, many season bests,' he points out, noting ball progression and statistics about penetrating defensive lines. Passing accuracy was shown as 87%. {'Not pleased with that … that needs to be in the mid-90s,' he insists. {'My first game, it was very long-ball, League Two football, but we want to be unique. I think a five-yard pass has a higher chance to be successful than just going long all the time.'

The overarching numbers make sobering reading. Newport have won 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 precious point. {'We need to be a dominant side at home,' Fuchs emphasizes. {'It’s just not good enough, not even having a win. We need to build a fortress.'

In the Thick of It at Heart

By his own admission, Fuchs relishes a challenge. {'What’s so negative with that?' He hung up his boots less than three years ago and, like Tuchel, likes being in the middle of the action. {'I’m a part of the group. I’m still a player inside,' he states, tapping his chest. {'At training I’m always getting involved in the boxes – two megs already, brilliant! I want us to see each other as a unified group. Yes, you’re the ones on the field, but we’re one team, we’re tackling this as one.'