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'I would say that the likelihood of us turning the season around are less than Leicester winning the Premier League, so they are in our favor, right?' Christian Fuchs is talking about his new life as head coach of Newport County, and the daunting task of averting a fall into non-league football. Here lies a challenge at the polar opposite of the scale, though that unbelievable title win in 2016 provided him with much more than a champion's gong. {'It helped change my perspective a little bit ... it demonstrated that the unattainable can be attainable,' he remarks.

The Surprising Path to Rodney Parade

The obvious place to start is: how did Fuchs find himself here? 'That's the element of the story that seems counterintuitive, wouldn't you say?' he says, breaking into a chuckle. This serves as the 39-year-old's opening gambit and a clear demonstration of his engaging character across a colourful conversation. Our talk flows in multiple pathways, from being managed by the current England boss and Brendan Rodgers to the immediate requirement to find a nearby hairdresser.

He opens some post on his desk. Included is a letter from a Leicester supporter sending best wishes, along with a couple of shiny pictures from that campaign. {'Young Fuchs,' he muses, with a smile. Another delivery brings a stash of old stickers, one from an album marking Euro 2016, when he led Austria. A greeting from the Newport Supporters’ Club is given special attention. Things like this makes me very content,' he adds.

A Previous Visit and a Typographical Error

Prior to coming back from North Carolina to accept his first job in senior management 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. On that occasion a former full-back duelled against Fuchs. {'He had the match of his career,' Fuchs recalls. But when the official sheets came out, an curious error came to light. {'You need to redact this,' Fuchs jokes. 'They misspelled my name – somehow a 'k' smuggled itself in in place of the 'h'. It is hilarious because Fuchs, in German, means fox, so it’s something fitting.'

Experiences from The Tinkerman, Rodgers and Tuchel

His choice to join the Foxes in the summer of 2015 proved brilliant. A couple of weeks later Leicester hired Claudio Ranieri and what followed is legendary. The Italian arrived at the club in the middle of a pre-season camp in Austria and his hands-off approach produced miracles. {'When you see Claudio you imagine an elder gentleman, so experienced in the game, maybe a bit set in his ways, but he’s anything but,' Fuchs explains. {'He just said he was going to watch 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 observed you for a week and I’m not going to modify anything.''

Fuchs holds dear lessons learned from Rodgers and Tuchel, under whom he worked while on loan at Mainz. {'He always thought: ‘How can I get extra out of the players? How can I challenge them psychologically?’’ Fuchs says of Tuchel. {'That’s a big part of our philosophy as well. How can you make good players who choose wisely? Back then he was probably in a analogous place to where I am now … very driven, very keen to prove himself.'

Origins and a Resolute Nature

Fuchs’s determination 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 discloses. {'There are people who let that get the better of them or there are people who say: ‘Forget you, I’m going to show you.’ I’ve been told too many times: ‘You cannot do this, you can not do that.’ I’m going to show that I can and give absolutely everything. The other thing about my character is: I’m quite headstrong. If I see promise, I’m going for it.'

Data-Driven Approach and the Struggle for Survival

Fuchs’s assistant, Mark Smith, was born in Newport and formerly ran Fuchs’s Fox Soccer Academy. Fuchs fires up his laptop to show analytics from a recent 2-2 draw, sharing a slide he showed his players. {'The team hit several season peaks,' he says, emphasizing ball progression and statistics about breaking defensive lines. Passing accuracy was shown as 87%. {'Not pleased with that … that needs to be in the 90-95% range,' he declares. {'My first game, it was very direct, lower-league football, but we want to be unique. I think a five-yard pass has a higher chance to be successful than just launching it all the time.'

The general numbers present 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 won a game at home for 273 days and have kept just two clean sheets in 26 matches this season. But a recent last-gasp equaliser with 10 men garnered a crucial point. {'We need to be a force at home,' Fuchs says. {'It’s just not good enough, not even having a win. We need to create a stronghold.'

One of the Lads at Heart

By his own admission, Fuchs enjoys a challenge. {'What’s so wrong with that?' He retired less than three years ago and, like Tuchel, likes being in the heart of the battle. {'I’m a component of the group. I’m still a player inside,' he remarks, indicating his chest. {'At training I’m always participating in the small-sided games – two megs 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 collectively.'