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'I would say that the likelihood of us reviving our campaign are slimmer than Leicester winning 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 drop into non-league football. Here lies a challenge at the complete other end of the spectrum, though that fairytale title win in 2016 provided him with far more than a winner's medal. {'It assisted in altering my mindset a little bit ... it proved that the unthinkable can be possible,' he states.

The Surprising Path to Rodney Parade

The natural place to start is: how did Fuchs end up here? 'That's the part of the story that seems counterintuitive, wouldn't you say?' he comments, breaking into a chuckle. It is the 39-year-old's opening gambit and a clear demonstration of his engaging character across a wide-ranging conversation. The discussion runs in different directions, from working under Thomas Tuchel and Brendan Rodgers to the urgent quest to find a barber in the area.

He opens some mail on his desk. There is a letter from a Leicester supporter sending best wishes, accompanied by a couple of professional photographs from that season. {'Young Fuchs,' he remarks, with a smile. Another package brings a stash of old Panini stickers, one from an album marking Euro 2016, when he led Austria. A greeting from the Newport Supporters’ Club has pride of place. Items like this really makes me very pleased,' he adds.

A Past Trip and a Typographical Error

Prior to returning from North Carolina to assume his first job in first-team coaching last month, Fuchs’s last trip to Rodney Parade was in January 2019, when Leicester endured a Newport cupset in the FA Cup third round. On that occasion David Pipe faced off against Fuchs. {'He had the game of his career,' Fuchs recalls. But when the official sheets dropped, an interesting error emerged. {'You need to redact this,' Fuchs remarks. 'They got wrong 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 fitting.'

Lessons from Claudio, 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 the rest is history. The Italian came to the club in the middle of a pre-season camp in Austria and his hands-off approach worked wonders. {'When you observe Claudio you envision an older man, so long in the business, maybe a bit old school, but he’s the complete opposite,' Fuchs explains. {'He just said he was going to watch 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 watched you for a week and I’m not going to alter anything.''

Fuchs cherishes experiences from Rodgers and Tuchel, under whom he worked while on loan at Mainz. {'He always considered: ‘How can I get extra out of the players? How can I challenge them mentally?’’ Fuchs says of Tuchel. {'That’s a significant part of our approach as well. How can you make good players who choose wisely? Back then he was probably in a comparable position to where I am now … very motivated, very keen to prove himself.'

Origins and a Determined Nature

Fuchs’s motivation stems 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 defeat them or there are people who say: ‘Forget you, I’m going to show you.’ I’ve been told too many times: ‘You can not do this, you cannot 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 very headstrong. If I see promise, I’m going for it.'

Analytical Approach and the Struggle 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, sharing a slide he presented to his players. {'The team hit several season bests,' he says, emphasizing ball progression and statistics about breaking defensive lines. Passing accuracy was shown as 87%. {'Not happy with that … that needs to be in the mid-90s,' he declares. {'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 chance to be successful than just hoofing it all the time.'

The general numbers make bleak 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 garnered a precious point. {'We need to be a power at home,' Fuchs says. {'It’s just not good enough, not even having a win. We need to create a fortress.'

One of the Lads at Heart

By his own acknowledgement, Fuchs relishes a challenge. {'What’s so wrong with that?' He retired less than three years ago and, like Tuchel, loves being in the heart of the battle. {'I’m a part of the group. I’m still a player inside,' he says, pointing to his chest. {'At training I’m always joining in in the small-sided games – two megs already, yes! I want us to regard 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 as one.'