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'I estimate that the odds of us transforming our fortunes are slimmer than Leicester winning the Premier League, so they are in our favor, right?' Christian Fuchs is reflecting on his fresh chapter as boss of the Football League's bottom club, and the immense task of averting a fall into non-league football. This represents a challenge at the polar opposite of the spectrum, though that miraculous title win in 2016 gave him a great deal more than a Premier League trophy. {'It contributed to shifting my outlook 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: how did Fuchs end up here? 'That's the element of the story that defies logic, wouldn't you say?' he says, letting out laughter. This serves as the 39-year-old's opening gambit and a clear sign of his playful character across a wide-ranging conversation. Discourse travels in different directions, from working under the current England boss and the former Leicester manager to the pressing need to find a local barber.

He looks at some correspondence on his desk. There is a message from a Leicester supporter wishing him well, accompanied by a couple of professional photographs from that season. {'Young Fuchs,' he remarks, grinning. Another delivery brings a hoard of old stickers, one from an album commemorating Euro 2016, when he led Austria. A note from the Newport Supporters’ Club has pride of place. Items like this makes me very pleased,' he adds.

A Past Trip and a Typographical Error

Until his move back from North Carolina to take on his first job in senior management last month, Fuchs’s last trip to Rodney Parade was in January 2019, when Leicester endured a Newport giantkilling in the FA Cup third round. On that occasion the Newport kit man duelled against Fuchs. {'He had the performance of his life,' Fuchs admits. But when the official sheets were released, an curious error came to light. {'You need to redact this,' Fuchs says with a smile. 'They got wrong 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 nice.'

Lessons from The Tinkerman, Rodgers and Tuchel

His move to join the Foxes in the summer of 2015 proved brilliant. A couple of weeks later Leicester brought in Claudio Ranieri and what followed is legendary. The Italian arrived at the club in the heart of a pre-season camp in Austria and his observational approach did the trick. {'When you see Claudio you picture an elder gentleman, so long in the business, maybe a bit old school, but he’s anything but,' Fuchs says. {'He just said he was going to monitor 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 studied 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 pondered: ‘How can I get more out of the players? How can I push 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 focused, very eager to prove himself.'

Origins and a Determined Character

Fuchs’s motivation stems 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 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 not do this, you can't 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 possibility, I’m doing it.'

Detailed Approach and the Fight for Survival

Fuchs’s assistant, Mark Smith, was born in Newport and previously led Fuchs’s Fox Soccer Academy. Fuchs boots up his laptop to show analytics from a recent 2-2 draw, displaying a slide he showed his players. {'The team hit many, many season highs,' he explains, emphasizing ball progression and statistics about penetrating defensive lines. Passing accuracy was recorded at 87%. {'Not pleased with that … that needs to be in the 90-95% range,' he declares. {'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 be successful than just hoofing it all the time.'

The general numbers make bleak reading. Newport have secured 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 earned a valuable 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 create a impenetrable home.'

In the Thick of It at Heart

By his own confession, Fuchs likes a challenge. {'What’s so bad with that?' He ended his playing career less than three years ago and, like Tuchel, enjoys being in the thick of things. {'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 pannas already, yes! I want us to see each other as one team. Yes, you’re the ones on the field, but we’re one team, we’re striving towards this as one.'