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'I estimate that the likelihood of us transforming our fortunes are slimmer than Leicester winning the Premier League, so they are in our favor, right?' Christian Fuchs is discussing his fresh chapter as head coach of the League Two strugglers, and the daunting task of averting a fall into non-league football. This represents a challenge at the polar opposite of the scale, though that miraculous title win in 2016 provided him with much more than a champion's gong. {'It contributed to shifting my perspective a little bit ... it proved that the unthinkable can be achievable,' he notes.

'How Did Fuchs End Up Here?'

The obvious place to start is: how did Fuchs find himself here? 'I guess that's the part that's unpredictable, right?' he says, erupting in laughter. This serves as the 39-year-old's initial statement and a clear indication of his playful character across a colourful conversation. The discussion travels in various tangents, from working under Thomas Tuchel and Brendan Rodgers to the urgent quest to find a local barber.

He opens some post on his desk. There is a message from a Leicester supporter sending best wishes, paired with a couple of shiny pictures from that memorable year. {'Young Fuchs,' he muses, grinning. Another package brings a collection of old Panini stickers, one from an album commemorating Euro 2016, when he led Austria. A note from the Newport Supporters’ Club is given special attention. Things like this really makes me very content,' he states.

A Prior Encounter and a Misspelt Name

Prior to returning from North Carolina to assume his first job in senior management last month, Fuchs’s previous visit to Rodney Parade was in January 2019, when Leicester endured a Newport shock defeat in the FA Cup third round. On that occasion the Newport kit man competed with Fuchs. {'He had the performance of his career,' Fuchs recalls. But when the official sheets came out, an amusing error came to light. {'You need to redact this,' Fuchs jokes. 'They misspelled 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 nice.'

Experiences from Claudio, Rodgers and Tuchel

His choice to join the Foxes in the summer of 2015 turned out to be brilliant. 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 light-touch approach did the trick. {'When you see Claudio you imagine an elder gentleman, so a veteran of the sport, maybe a bit set in his ways, but he’s anything but,' Fuchs states. {'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 studied you for a week and I’m not going to alter anything.''

Fuchs holds dear insights gained 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 methodology 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 focused, very keen to prove himself.'

Background and a Determined Mindset

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 capable enough,' he shares. {'There are people who let that overcome them or there are people who say: ‘Fuchs you, I’m going to show you.’ I’ve been told too many times: ‘You cannot 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 personality is: I’m pretty headstrong. If I see possibility, I’m making it happen.'

Detailed Approach and the Fight for Survival

Fuchs’s assistant, Mark Smith, was born in Newport and had been in charge of Fuchs’s Fox Soccer Academy. Fuchs boots up his laptop to show statistics from a recent 2-2 draw, displaying a slide he used with his players. {'The team hit many, many season highs,' he explains, emphasizing ball progression and statistics about getting behind defensive lines. Passing accuracy was shown as 87%. {'Not satisfied with that … that needs to be in the 90-95% range,' he states. {'My first game, it was very long-ball, fourth-tier 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 general numbers present sobering reading. Newport have managed 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 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 secured a precious point. {'We need to be a power at home,' Fuchs emphasizes. {'It’s just not good enough, 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 negative with that?' He ended his playing career less than three years ago and, like Tuchel, likes being in the middle of the action. {'I’m a component of the group. I’m still a player in here,' he says, indicating his chest. {'At training I’m always joining in in the small-sided games – two nutmegs already, yes! I want us to see each other as a single unit. Yes, you’re the ones on the field, but we’re one team, we’re striving towards this as one.'