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'I reckon that the likelihood of us transforming our fortunes are less than Leicester lifting the Premier League, so they are in our favor, right?' Christian Fuchs is discussing his fresh chapter as head coach of the Football League's bottom club, and the monumental task of staving off a drop into non-league football. It is a challenge at the polar opposite of the spectrum, though that miraculous title win in 2016 provided him with a great deal more than a Premier League trophy. {'It helped change my mindset a little bit ... it proved that the unthinkable can be achievable,' he states.

The Unlikely Path to Rodney Parade

The natural place to start is: what was the journey that led Fuchs find himself here? 'I imagine that's the part that's illogical, right?' he comments, erupting in a chuckle. This serves as the 39-year-old's initial statement and a clear sign of his playful character across a colourful conversation. Our talk flows in various tangents, from working under Thomas Tuchel and the former Leicester manager to the pressing need to find a local barber.

He opens some mail on his desk. Included is a note from a Leicester supporter wishing him well, along with a couple of shiny pictures from that campaign. {'Young Fuchs,' he says, with a smile. Another envelope brings a hoard of old Panini stickers, one from an album commemorating Euro 2016, when he skippered Austria. A greeting from the Newport Supporters’ Club is given special attention. 'Stuff like this really makes me very pleased,' he adds.

A Previous Visit and a Funny Mistake

Until coming back from North Carolina to accept his first job in frontline management last month, Fuchs’s most recent encounter to Rodney Parade was in January 2019, when Leicester suffered a Newport shock defeat in the FA Cup third round. On that occasion the Newport kit man duelled against Fuchs. {'He had the match of his career,' Fuchs admits. But when the lineup cards dropped, an curious error emerged. {'You need to edit 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 pleasant.'

Experiences from Ranieri, Rodgers and Tuchel

His choice to join the Foxes in the summer of 2015 proved brilliant. A couple of weeks later Leicester appointed Claudio Ranieri and an iconic story unfolded. The Italian joined 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 seasoned professional, so long in the business, maybe a bit old school, but he’s anything but,' Fuchs explains. {'He just said he was going to monitor 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 modify anything.''

Fuchs values lessons learned 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 psychologically?’’ Fuchs says of Tuchel. {'That’s a big 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 motivated, very eager to prove himself.'

Background and a Determined Character

Fuchs’s motivation comes from his upbringing in Neunkirchen. {'There are comparisons to where we are now, because I was told when I was 11 years old that I would never be capable enough,' he shares. {'There are people who let that defeat 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'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 quite headstrong. If I see potential, I’m making it happen.'

Analytical 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 fires up his laptop to show analytics from a recent 2-2 draw, sharing a slide he presented to his players. {'The team hit numerous season peaks,' he explains, emphasizing ball progression and statistics about getting behind defensive lines. Passing accuracy was shown as 87%. {'Not satisfied with that … that needs to be in the mid-90s,' he insists. {'My first game, it was very long-ball, fourth-tier 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 broader 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 injury-time equaliser with 10 men secured a valuable point. {'We need to be a dominant side at home,' Fuchs emphasizes. {'It’s just not acceptable, not even having a win. We need to create a impenetrable home.'

One of the Lads at Heart

By his own confession, 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 part of the group. I’m still a player at heart,' he remarks, indicating his chest. {'At training I’m always joining in in the boxes – two pannas already, brilliant! I want us to see 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.'