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'I reckon that the odds of us turning the season around are slimmer than Leicester lifting the Premier League, so they are in our benefit, right?' Christian Fuchs is talking about his recent venture as boss of the League Two strugglers, and the monumental task of staving off a drop into non-league football. Here lies a challenge at the complete other end of the scale, though that fairytale title win in 2016 furnished him far more than a champion's gong. {'It assisted in altering my mindset a little bit ... it showed that the unattainable can be attainable,' he states.

'How Did Fuchs Find Himself Here?'

The natural place to start is: what was the journey that led Fuchs end up here? 'I guess that's the part that's not logical, right?' he comments, erupting in laughter. It is the 39-year-old's initial statement and a clear demonstration of his playful character across a colourful conversation. The discussion flows in different directions, from being managed by the current England boss and the former Leicester manager 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, accompanied by a couple of professional photographs from that campaign. {'Young Fuchs,' he says, smiling. Another package brings a hoard of old stickers, one from an album celebrating Euro 2016, when he led Austria. A greeting from the Newport Supporters’ Club is given special attention. Items like this genuinely makes me very content,' he concludes.

A Prior Encounter and a Funny Mistake

Until returning from North Carolina to accept his first job in frontline management last month, Fuchs’s last trip to Rodney Parade was in January 2019, when Leicester were on the end of a Newport cupset in the FA Cup third round. During that match a former full-back duelled against Fuchs. {'He had the game of his life,' Fuchs says. But when the teamsheets dropped, an interesting error came to light. {'You need to censor this,' Fuchs remarks. 'They misspelt my name – somehow a 'k' crept in in place of the 'h'. It is funny because Fuchs, in German, means fox, so it’s something nice.'

Lessons from Ranieri, Rodgers and Tuchel

His move to join the Foxes in the summer of 2015 proved a masterstroke. A couple of weeks later Leicester hired Claudio Ranieri and an iconic story unfolded. The Italian joined the club in the midst of a pre-season camp in Austria and his hands-off approach did the trick. {'When you look at Claudio you envision an older man, so long in the business, maybe a bit traditional, but he’s the complete opposite,' Fuchs explains. {'He just said he was going to observe 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 watched you for a week and I’m not going to alter 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 additional out of the players? How can I challenge them mentally?’’ Fuchs says of Tuchel. {'That’s a big part of our philosophy as well. How can you make good decision-makers? Back then he was probably in a similar situation to where I am now … very motivated, very keen to prove himself.'

Origins and a Resolute Nature

Fuchs’s motivation comes from his early years in Neunkirchen. {'There are similarities to where we are now, because I was told when I was 11 years old that I would never be skilled enough,' he shares. {'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 can't do this, you can not do that.’ I’m going to demonstrate that I can and put in the hard yards. The other thing about my personality is: I’m pretty headstrong. If I see possibility, I’m doing it.'

Detailed Approach and the Battle 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 statistics from a recent 2-2 draw, displaying a slide he showed his players. {'The team hit many, many season bests,' he points out, noting ball progression and statistics about penetrating defensive lines. Passing accuracy was shown as 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 different. I think a five-yard pass has a higher probability to find its target than just launching it all the time.'

The broader numbers present grim reading. Newport have secured three of 19 league matches and are winless 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.'

Still a Player at Heart

By his own admission, Fuchs relishes 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 component of the group. I’m still a player inside,' he says, indicating his chest. {'At training I’m always joining in in the boxes – two nutmegs already, get in! 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 together.'