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'I estimate that the odds of us turning the season around are lower than Leicester lifting the Premier League, so they are in our favour, right?' Christian Fuchs is discussing his recent venture as boss of the League Two strugglers, and the monumental task of averting a fall into non-league football. It is a challenge at the polar opposite of the spectrum of success, though that fairytale title win in 2016 gave him a great deal more than a champion's gong. {'It helped change my perspective a little bit ... it proved that the unthinkable can be possible,' he remarks.

The Illogical Path to Rodney Parade

The obvious place to start is: what was the journey that led Fuchs wind up here? 'That's the element of the story that defies logic, wouldn't you say?' he comments, erupting in a chuckle. It is the 39-year-old's initial statement and a clear sign of his playful character across a wide-ranging conversation. Our talk runs in various tangents, from playing for the current England boss and Brendan Rodgers to the pressing need to find a barber in the area.

He opens some mail on his desk. Among it is a note from a Leicester supporter offering encouragement, accompanied by a couple of professional photographs from that season. {'Young Fuchs,' he remarks, with a smile. Another delivery brings a stash of old collector's items, one from an album marking Euro 2016, when he led Austria. A note from the Newport Supporters’ Club is displayed prominently. 'Stuff like this makes me very content,' he adds.

A Previous Visit and a Typographical Error

Until returning from North Carolina to accept his first job in frontline management last month, Fuchs’s most recent encounter to Rodney Parade was in January 2019, when Leicester were on the end of a Newport giantkilling in the FA Cup third round. On that occasion the Newport kit man duelled against Fuchs. {'He had the game of his life,' Fuchs recalls. But when the official sheets came out, an curious error was discovered. {'You need to redact this,' Fuchs says with a smile. 'They misspelled 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 pleasant.'

Lessons from Claudio, Rodgers and Tuchel

His choice to join the Foxes in the summer of 2015 was a masterstroke. A couple of weeks later Leicester hired Claudio Ranieri and what followed is legendary. The Italian came to the club in the middle of a pre-season camp in Austria and his observational approach did the trick. {'When you look at Claudio you envision an older man, so a veteran of the sport, maybe a bit set in his ways, but he’s anything but,' Fuchs says. {'He just said he was going to observe 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 values experiences from Rodgers and Tuchel, under whom he worked while on loan at Mainz. {'He always thought: ‘How can I get additional out of the players? How can I test them mentally?’’ Fuchs says of Tuchel. {'That’s a major part of our approach 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 eager to prove himself.'

Background and a Determined Character

Fuchs’s determination comes from his childhood in Neunkirchen. {'There are parallels to where we are now, because I was told when I was 11 years old that I would never be good enough,' he reveals. {'There are people who let that get the better of them or there are people who say: ‘Forget you, 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 show that I can and work my socks off. The other thing about my personality is: I’m very determined. If I see potential, 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 fires up his laptop to show analytics from a recent 2-2 draw, sharing a slide he used with his players. {'The team hit many, many season peaks,' he says, highlighting ball progression and statistics about getting behind defensive lines. Passing accuracy was recorded at 87%. {'Not happy with that … that needs to be in the 90-95% range,' he states. {'My first game, it was very physical, League Two football, but we want to be distinct. I think a five-yard pass has a higher percentage to be successful than just hoofing it all the time.'

The overarching numbers paint bleak reading. Newport have secured 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 tasted victory 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 power at home,' Fuchs says. {'It’s just not acceptable, not even having a win. We need to build a fortress.'

Still a Player at Heart

By his own acknowledgement, Fuchs relishes a challenge. {'What’s so bad with that?' He retired less than three years ago and, like Tuchel, likes being in the heart of the battle. {'I’m a member of the group. I’m still a player at heart,' he states, tapping his chest. {'At training I’m always joining in in the small-sided games – two megs already, brilliant! 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 striving towards this as one.'