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'I reckon that the odds of us transforming our fortunes are less than Leicester claiming the Premier League, so they are in our favour, right?' Christian Fuchs is talking about his recent venture as boss of the League Two strugglers, and the immense task of preventing a drop into non-league football. It is a challenge at the complete other end 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 assisted in altering my perspective a little bit ... it proved that the impossible can be possible,' he notes.

The Surprising Path to Rodney Parade

The logical place to start is: what was the journey that led Fuchs find himself here? 'That's the element of the story that defies logic, wouldn't you say?' he states, breaking into laughter. This serves as the 39-year-old's initial statement and a clear demonstration of his engaging character across a colourful conversation. Our talk flows in various tangents, from working under Thomas Tuchel and Brendan Rodgers to the urgent quest to find a local barber.

He sorts through some post on his desk. There is a note from a Leicester supporter wishing him well, accompanied by a couple of shiny pictures from that campaign. {'Young Fuchs,' he muses, smiling. Another envelope brings a stash of old stickers, one from an album marking Euro 2016, when he led Austria. A note from the Newport Supporters’ Club is displayed prominently. Items like this genuinely makes me very happy,' he adds.

A Prior Encounter and a Typographical Error

Until returning from North Carolina to accept his first job in first-team coaching last month, Fuchs’s last trip to Rodney Parade was in January 2019, when Leicester suffered a Newport cupset in the FA Cup third round. During that match David Pipe competed with Fuchs. {'He had the match of his career,' Fuchs says. But when the official sheets dropped, an amusing error emerged. {'You need to censor this,' Fuchs says with a smile. 'They misspelt my name – somehow a 'k' found its way in in place of the 'h'. It is funny because Fuchs, in German, means fox, so it’s something nice.'

Insights from Ranieri, Rodgers and Tuchel

His choice to join the Foxes in the summer of 2015 was inspired. A couple of weeks later Leicester hired Claudio Ranieri and an iconic story unfolded. The Italian arrived at the club in the midst of a pre-season camp in Austria and his hands-off approach produced miracles. {'When you observe Claudio you envision an elder gentleman, so long in the business, maybe a bit old school, but he’s the complete opposite,' Fuchs states. {'He just said he was going to monitor 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 change 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 push them mentally?’’ Fuchs says of Tuchel. {'That’s a major part of our philosophy as well. How can you make good thinkers on the pitch? Back then he was probably in a analogous place to where I am now … very driven, very eager to prove himself.'

Origins and a Resolute Character

Fuchs’s determination originates in 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 capable enough,' he shares. {'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't do this, you cannot do that.’ I’m going to demonstrate that I can and give absolutely everything. The other thing about my make-up is: I’m pretty headstrong. If I see promise, I’m doing it.'

Data-Driven Approach and the Battle 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 statistics from a recent 2-2 draw, sharing a slide he presented to his players. {'The team hit several season bests,' he explains, highlighting ball progression and statistics about breaking defensive lines. Passing accuracy was recorded at 87%. {'Not pleased with that … that needs to be in the mid-90s,' he states. {'My first game, it was very long-ball, 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 overarching numbers present sobering reading. Newport have managed 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 secured three points 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 crucial point. {'We need to be a power at home,' Fuchs says. {'It’s just not acceptable, not even having a win. We need to build a impenetrable home.'

In the Thick of It at Heart

By his own admission, Fuchs relishes a challenge. {'What’s so bad with that?' He retired less than three years ago and, like Tuchel, likes being in the thick of things. {'I’m a part of the group. I’m still a player at heart,' he says, tapping his chest. {'At training I’m always getting involved in the small-sided games – two megs already, yes! I want us to regard each other as a single unit. Yes, you’re the ones on the field, but we’re all in this together, we’re working on this as one.'