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'I would say that the chances of us turning the season around are slimmer than Leicester winning the Premier League, so they are in our benefit, right?' Christian Fuchs is talking about his new life as manager 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 of success, though that fairytale title win in 2016 provided him with a great deal more than a Premier League trophy. {'It helped change my perspective a little bit ... it proved that the impossible can be possible,' he notes.

'How Did Fuchs End Up Here?'

The logical place to start is: what brought Fuchs end up here? 'I guess that's the part that's not logical, right?' he states, letting out a laugh. It is the 39-year-old's initial statement and a clear indication of his playful character across a colourful conversation. Discourse travels in various tangents, from being managed by Thomas Tuchel and the former Leicester manager to the urgent quest to find a barber in the area.

He sorts through some post on his desk. Among it is a message from a Leicester supporter sending best wishes, accompanied by a couple of shiny pictures from that season. {'Young Fuchs,' he remarks, grinning. Another envelope brings a collection of old collector's items, one from an album marking Euro 2016, when he led Austria. A card from the Newport Supporters’ Club has pride of place. Things like this really makes me very happy,' he states.

A Previous Visit and a Funny Mistake

Until returning from North Carolina to assume his first job in frontline 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 faced off against Fuchs. {'He had the performance of his career,' Fuchs admits. But when the teamsheets dropped, an interesting error emerged. {'You need to redact this,' Fuchs says with a smile. 'They misspelled 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 pleasant.'

Experiences from Ranieri, Rodgers and Tuchel

His decision to join the Foxes in the summer of 2015 proved inspired. A couple of weeks later Leicester brought in Claudio Ranieri and what followed is legendary. The Italian joined the club in the heart of a pre-season camp in Austria and his observational approach did the trick. {'When you observe Claudio you envision an older man, so long in the business, maybe a bit old school, but he’s so not,' Fuchs states. {'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 experiences 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 push them mentally?’’ Fuchs says of Tuchel. {'That’s a significant part of our methodology 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 driven, very eager to prove himself.'

Roots and a Stubborn Character

Fuchs’s motivation comes from his childhood 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 good enough,' he shares. {'There are people who let that get the better of 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 not do that.’ I’m going to show that I can and work my socks off. The other thing about my personality is: I’m pretty determined. If I see possibility, I’m doing it.'

Analytical Approach and the Struggle for Survival

Fuchs’s assistant, Mark Smith, was born in Newport and formerly ran Fuchs’s Fox Soccer Academy. Fuchs boots up his laptop to show data from a recent 2-2 draw, presenting a slide he presented to his players. {'The team hit several season peaks,' he says, highlighting ball progression and statistics about breaking defensive lines. Passing accuracy was logged at 87%. {'Not pleased with that … that needs to be in the 90-95% range,' he declares. {'My first game, it was very physical, League Two football, but we want to be unique. I think a five-yard pass has a higher probability to find its target than just launching it all the time.'

The overarching numbers paint grim reading. Newport have won 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 93rd-minute equaliser with 10 men secured a valuable point. {'We need to be a dominant side at home,' Fuchs says. {'It’s just not satisfactory, not even having a win. We need to create a stronghold.'

One of the Lads at Heart

By his own confession, Fuchs likes a challenge. {'What’s so wrong with that?' He retired less than three years ago and, like Tuchel, loves 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 drills – two nutmegs already, yes! I want us to view each other as one team. Yes, you’re the ones on the field, but we’re all in this together, we’re working on this together.'