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'I would say that the likelihood of us transforming our fortunes are lower than Leicester claiming the Premier League, so they are in our favour, right?' Christian Fuchs is talking about his new life as manager of Newport County, and the daunting task of staving off a drop into non-league football. It is a challenge at the complete other end of the scale, though that miraculous title win in 2016 provided him with a great deal more than a winner's medal. {'It contributed to shifting my perspective a little bit ... it demonstrated that the unthinkable can be achievable,' he states.

The Illogical Path to Rodney Parade

The logical place to start is: what was the journey that led Fuchs end up here? 'That's the part of the story that defies logic, wouldn't you say?' he says, letting out laughter. This serves as the 39-year-old's initial statement and a clear sign of his engaging character across a colourful conversation. Discourse travels in different directions, from being managed by Thomas Tuchel and Brendan Rodgers to the urgent quest to find a local barber.

He sorts through some mail on his desk. There is a message from a Leicester supporter offering encouragement, along with a couple of professional photographs from that campaign. {'Young Fuchs,' he says, grinning. Another delivery brings a collection of old collector's items, one from an album commemorating Euro 2016, when he skippered Austria. A note from the Newport Supporters’ Club has pride of place. Things like this makes me very content,' he states.

A Previous Visit and a Misspelt Name

Until coming back 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 giantkilling in the FA Cup third round. On that occasion David Pipe duelled against Fuchs. {'He had the performance of his life,' Fuchs recalls. But when the teamsheets dropped, an interesting error was discovered. {'You need to censor this,' Fuchs jokes. 'They misspelled my name – somehow a 'k' crept in in place of the 'h'. It is amusing because Fuchs, in German, means fox, so it’s something fitting.'

Insights from Ranieri, Rodgers and Tuchel

His move to join the Foxes in the summer of 2015 was a masterstroke. A couple of weeks later Leicester appointed Claudio Ranieri and an iconic story unfolded. The Italian came to the club in the midst of a pre-season camp in Austria and his observational approach worked wonders. {'When you observe Claudio you picture an seasoned professional, so experienced in the game, maybe a bit set in his ways, but he’s the complete opposite,' Fuchs explains. {'He just said he was going to watch 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 modify anything.''

Fuchs cherishes lessons learned from Rodgers and Tuchel, under whom he worked while on loan at Mainz. {'He always pondered: ‘How can I get more out of the players? How can I push them psychologically?’’ 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 comparable position to where I am now … very motivated, very anxious to prove himself.'

Origins and a Resolute Character

Fuchs’s drive originates in his upbringing 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 overcome 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 show that I can and put in the hard yards. The other thing about my character is: I’m pretty stubborn. If I see potential, I’m doing it.'

Analytical Approach and the Fight 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 used with his players. {'The team hit numerous season bests,' he points out, emphasizing ball progression and statistics about getting behind defensive lines. Passing accuracy was logged at 87%. {'Not happy with that … that needs to be in the 90-95% range,' he declares. {'My first game, it was very long-ball, League Two football, but we want to be unique. I think a five-yard pass has a higher percentage to be successful than just going long all the time.'

The broader numbers paint grim reading. Newport have won three of 19 league matches and are without a victory in eight in all competitions. By the time of their next home game, they will have not won a game at home for 273 days and have kept just two clean sheets in 26 matches this season. But a recent last-gasp equaliser with 10 men garnered a valuable point. {'We need to be a force at home,' Fuchs says. {'It’s just not satisfactory, not even having a win. We need to construct a impenetrable home.'

Still a Player at Heart

By his own admission, Fuchs enjoys a challenge. {'What’s so bad 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 part of the group. I’m still a player at heart,' he states, indicating his chest. {'At training I’m always joining in in the small-sided games – two pannas already, get in! I want us to regard each other as a single unit. Yes, you’re the ones on the field, but we’re one team, we’re striving towards this collectively.'