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'I estimate that the chances of us reviving our campaign are lower than Leicester lifting the Premier League, so they are in our benefit, right?' Christian Fuchs is discussing his fresh chapter as manager of the Football League's bottom club, and the daunting task of staving off a fall into non-league football. Here lies a challenge at the polar opposite of the spectrum of success, though that unbelievable title win in 2016 gave him a great deal more than a Premier League trophy. {'It helped change my perspective a little bit ... it proved that the unattainable can be attainable,' he remarks.

'How Did Fuchs Wind Up Here?'

The obvious place to start is: what brought Fuchs find himself here? 'That's the element of the story that seems counterintuitive, wouldn't you say?' he comments, breaking into laughter. This serves as the 39-year-old's initial statement and a clear sign of his charismatic character across a colourful conversation. The discussion flows in different directions, from working under the current England boss and Brendan Rodgers to the urgent quest to find a barber in the area.

He looks at some correspondence on his desk. Among it is a message from a Leicester supporter offering encouragement, accompanied by a couple of professional photographs from that season. {'Young Fuchs,' he muses, smiling. Another package brings a hoard 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. Things like this genuinely makes me very content,' he states.

A Prior Encounter and a Funny Mistake

Until his move back from North Carolina to assume his first job in first-team coaching last month, Fuchs’s previous visit to Rodney Parade was in January 2019, when Leicester were on the end of a Newport giantkilling in the FA Cup third round. On that occasion David Pipe duelled against Fuchs. {'He had the match of his career,' Fuchs admits. But when the lineup cards dropped, an interesting error was discovered. {'You need to edit this,' Fuchs jokes. '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.'

Experiences from Claudio, Rodgers and Tuchel

His decision to join the Foxes in the summer of 2015 proved inspired. A couple of weeks later Leicester appointed 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 light-touch approach worked wonders. {'When you observe Claudio you picture an seasoned professional, so long in the business, maybe a bit old school, but he’s anything but,' Fuchs states. {'He just said he was going to monitor training in Austria for the first week. He remained on the sidelines 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 insights gained from Rodgers and Tuchel, under whom he worked while on loan at Mainz. {'He always considered: ‘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 driven, very keen to prove himself.'

Origins and a Determined Mindset

Fuchs’s determination comes from 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 good enough,' he discloses. {'There are people who let that defeat them or there are people who say: ‘Watch me, I’m going to show you.’ I’ve been told too many times: ‘You can not do this, you can not do that.’ I’m going to prove that I can and put in the hard yards. The other thing about my character is: I’m very stubborn. If I see promise, I’m making it happen.'

Data-Driven Approach and the Fight for Survival

Fuchs’s assistant, Mark Smith, was born in Newport and had been in charge of Fuchs’s Fox Soccer Academy. Fuchs boots up his laptop to show data from a recent 2-2 draw, presenting a slide he showed his players. {'The team hit numerous season bests,' he says, highlighting ball progression and statistics about breaking defensive lines. Passing accuracy was recorded at 87%. {'Not pleased 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 unique. I think a five-yard pass has a higher chance to be successful than just hoofing it all the time.'

The broader numbers present sobering 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 secured three points at home for 273 days and have kept just two clean sheets in 26 matches this season. But a recent injury-time equaliser with 10 men secured a precious point. {'We need to be a force at home,' Fuchs emphasizes. {'It’s just not good enough, not even having a win. We need to build a impenetrable home.'

Still a Player at Heart

By his own acknowledgement, Fuchs enjoys a challenge. {'What’s so negative 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 member of the group. I’m still a player in here,' he says, pointing to his chest. {'At training I’m always getting involved in the small-sided games – two megs already, brilliant! I want us to view each other as a single unit. Yes, you’re the ones on the field, but we’re all in this together, we’re tackling this collectively.'