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'I estimate that the chances of us reviving our campaign are lower than Leicester winning the Premier League, so they are in our favour, right?' Christian Fuchs is reflecting on his new life as head coach of the Football League's bottom club, and the daunting task of preventing a fall into non-league football. Here lies a challenge at the complete other end of the scale, though that miraculous title win in 2016 gave him a great deal more than a champion's gong. {'It contributed to shifting my mindset a little bit ... it demonstrated that the unattainable can be attainable,' he remarks.

The Surprising Path to Rodney Parade

The obvious place to start is: what was the journey that led Fuchs end up here? 'I suppose that's the part that's unpredictable, right?' he comments, letting out a laugh. This remark acts as the 39-year-old's initial statement and a clear demonstration of his charismatic character across a wide-ranging conversation. Discourse travels in various tangents, from playing for Thomas Tuchel and Brendan Rodgers to the immediate requirement to find a barber in the area.

He opens some post on his desk. Included is a message from a Leicester supporter sending best wishes, along with a couple of shiny pictures from that campaign. {'Young Fuchs,' he remarks, with a smile. Another package brings a hoard of old Panini stickers, one from an album celebrating Euro 2016, when he captained Austria. A card from the Newport Supporters’ Club is given special attention. 'Stuff like this really makes me very content,' he adds.

A Prior Encounter and a Typographical Error

Prior to coming back 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 competed with Fuchs. {'He had the performance of his life,' Fuchs recalls. But when the lineup cards came out, an amusing error emerged. {'You need to edit this,' Fuchs remarks. 'They got wrong my name – somehow a 'k' found its way in in place of the 'h'. It is hilarious because Fuchs, in German, means fox, so it’s something nice.'

Experiences from Ranieri, Rodgers and Tuchel

His move to join the Foxes in the summer of 2015 turned out to be inspired. A couple of weeks later Leicester hired Claudio Ranieri and the rest is history. The Italian came to the club in the midst of a pre-season camp in Austria and his observational approach worked wonders. {'When you see Claudio you envision an elder gentleman, so a veteran of the sport, maybe a bit traditional, but he’s anything but,' 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 observed you for a week and I’m not going to modify anything.''

Fuchs values insights gained 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 push them mentally?’’ Fuchs says of Tuchel. {'That’s a big part of our approach as well. How can you make good players who choose wisely? Back then he was probably in a analogous place to where I am now … very motivated, very keen to prove himself.'

Origins and a Resolute Mindset

Fuchs’s drive originates in 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 get the better of 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 can not do that.’ I’m going to demonstrate that I can and work my socks off. The other thing about my personality is: I’m very determined. If I see possibility, I’m doing it.'

Data-Driven Approach and the Struggle for Survival

Fuchs’s assistant, Mark Smith, was born in Newport and previously led Fuchs’s Fox Soccer Academy. Fuchs opens his laptop to show statistics from a recent 2-2 draw, presenting a slide he used with his players. {'The team hit several season bests,' he points out, highlighting ball progression and statistics about penetrating defensive lines. Passing accuracy was recorded at 87%. {'Not happy with that … that needs to be in the mid-90s,' he states. {'My first game, it was very long-ball, fourth-tier football, but we want to be different. I think a five-yard pass has a higher percentage to be successful than just hoofing it all the time.'

The broader numbers paint bleak 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 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 crucial point. {'We need to be a dominant side at home,' Fuchs emphasizes. {'It’s just not acceptable, not even having a win. We need to construct a stronghold.'

One of the Lads at Heart

By his own confession, Fuchs relishes a challenge. {'What’s so bad with that?' He ended his playing career less than three years ago and, like Tuchel, likes being in the heart of the battle. {'I’m a component of the group. I’m still a player in here,' he states, pointing to his chest. {'At training I’m always participating in the boxes – two nutmegs already, brilliant! I want us to regard each other as one team. Yes, you’re the ones on the field, but we’re a collective, we’re tackling this collectively.'