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'I would say that the chances of us reviving our campaign are lower than Leicester claiming the Premier League, so they are in our benefit, right?' Christian Fuchs is discussing his fresh chapter as boss of the Football League's bottom club, and the immense task of preventing a fall into non-league football. Here lies a challenge at the polar opposite of the scale, though that fairytale title win in 2016 provided him with much more than a Premier League trophy. {'It contributed to shifting my outlook a little bit ... it showed that the unthinkable can be possible,' he states.

The Illogical Path to Rodney Parade

The obvious place to start is: what brought Fuchs end up here? 'I suppose that's the part that's unpredictable, right?' he states, letting out laughter. This serves as the 39-year-old's introductory line and a clear sign of his engaging character across a colourful conversation. Discourse flows in different directions, from working under Thomas Tuchel and Brendan Rodgers to the pressing need to find a local barber.

He looks at some mail on his desk. There is a note from a Leicester supporter wishing him well, paired with a couple of glossy photos from that campaign. {'Young Fuchs,' he remarks, smiling. Another delivery brings a stash of old collector's items, one from an album commemorating Euro 2016, when he led Austria. A card from the Newport Supporters’ Club is given special attention. 'Stuff like this makes me very content,' he concludes.

A Prior Encounter and a Misspelt Name

Until his move back from North Carolina to assume his first job in frontline management last month, Fuchs’s previous visit to Rodney Parade was in January 2019, when Leicester endured a Newport shock defeat in the FA Cup third round. That day the Newport kit man competed with Fuchs. {'He had the game of his career,' Fuchs recalls. But when the official sheets came out, an amusing 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 pleasant.'

Insights from Ranieri, Rodgers and Tuchel

His move to join the Foxes in the summer of 2015 turned out to be inspired. A couple of weeks later Leicester appointed Claudio Ranieri and the rest is history. The Italian came to the club in the heart of a pre-season camp in Austria and his hands-off approach produced miracles. {'When you observe Claudio you imagine an seasoned professional, so long in the business, maybe a bit set in his ways, but he’s so not,' 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 studied you for a week and I’m not going to change anything.''

Fuchs cherishes lessons learned from Rodgers and Tuchel, under whom he worked while on loan at Mainz. {'He always thought: ‘How can I get additional out of the players? How can I push them psychologically?’’ 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 motivated, very eager to prove himself.'

Roots and a Stubborn Nature

Fuchs’s determination originates in his childhood 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 reveals. {'There are people who let that get the better of 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't do that.’ I’m going to demonstrate that I can and put in the hard yards. The other thing about my character is: I’m pretty stubborn. If I see possibility, I’m doing it.'

Detailed Approach and the Struggle for Survival

Fuchs’s assistant, Mark Smith, was born in Newport and formerly ran Fuchs’s Fox Soccer Academy. Fuchs opens his laptop to show analytics from a recent 2-2 draw, sharing a slide he used with his players. {'The team hit several season bests,' he says, highlighting ball progression and statistics about penetrating defensive lines. Passing accuracy was shown as 87%. {'Not satisfied with that … that needs to be in the mid-90s,' he states. {'My first game, it was very long-ball, fourth-tier football, but we want to be unique. I think a five-yard pass has a higher percentage to arrive than just hoofing it all the time.'

The broader numbers make sobering reading. Newport have managed three of 19 league matches and are yet to win 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 garnered a precious point. {'We need to be a power at home,' Fuchs emphasizes. {'It’s just not satisfactory, not even having a win. We need to build a stronghold.'

One of the Lads at Heart

By his own acknowledgement, Fuchs relishes a challenge. {'What’s so bad with that?' He hung up his boots less than three years ago and, like Tuchel, enjoys being in the middle of the action. {'I’m a component of the group. I’m still a player in here,' he remarks, tapping his chest. {'At training I’m always getting involved in the drills – two megs already, brilliant! 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 working on this together.'