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'I reckon that the chances of us reviving our campaign are less than Leicester winning the Premier League, so they are in our favor, right?' Christian Fuchs is talking about his fresh chapter as manager of the Football League's bottom club, and the immense task of staving off a descent into non-league football. This represents a challenge at the polar opposite of the spectrum of success, though that miraculous title win in 2016 gave him far more than a champion's gong. {'It helped change my perspective a little bit ... it showed that the unthinkable can be achievable,' he notes.

The Illogical Path to Rodney Parade

The logical place to start is: how did Fuchs wind up here? 'That's the aspect of the story that defies logic, wouldn't you say?' he says, breaking into laughter. It is the 39-year-old's initial statement and a clear sign of his engaging character across a colourful conversation. Our talk flows in different directions, from being managed by the current England boss and the former Leicester manager to the urgent quest to find a barber in the area.

He sorts through some post on his desk. Among it is a letter from a Leicester supporter offering encouragement, paired with a couple of glossy photos from that memorable year. {'Young Fuchs,' he muses, grinning. Another delivery brings a stash of old collector's items, one from an album commemorating Euro 2016, when he led Austria. A note from the Newport Supporters’ Club has pride of place. 'Stuff like this genuinely makes me very happy,' he concludes.

A Previous Visit and a Funny Mistake

Until returning from North Carolina to assume his first job in frontline management last month, Fuchs’s previous visit to Rodney Parade was in January 2019, when Leicester endured a Newport cupset in the FA Cup third round. During that match the Newport kit man faced off against Fuchs. {'He had the match of his life,' Fuchs says. But when the teamsheets dropped, an curious error was discovered. {'You need to edit this,' Fuchs jokes. 'They got wrong my name – somehow a 'k' smuggled itself in in place of the 'h'. It is hilarious because Fuchs, in German, means fox, so it’s something fitting.'

Insights from Claudio, Rodgers and Tuchel

His decision to join the Foxes in the summer of 2015 proved a masterstroke. A couple of weeks later Leicester brought in Claudio Ranieri and what followed is legendary. The Italian came to the club in the midst of a pre-season camp in Austria and his light-touch approach did the trick. {'When you look at Claudio you picture an seasoned professional, so long in the business, maybe a bit set in his ways, but he’s the complete opposite,' Fuchs states. {'He just said he was going to watch training in Austria for the first week. He remained on the sidelines 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 change anything.''

Fuchs cherishes experiences from Rodgers and Tuchel, under whom he worked while on loan at Mainz. {'He always pondered: ‘How can I get additional out of the players? How can I test them mentally?’’ Fuchs says of Tuchel. {'That’s a big 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 Stubborn Character

Fuchs’s determination stems from his early years in Neunkirchen. {'There are comparisons to where we are now, because I was told when I was 11 years old that I would never be capable enough,' he reveals. {'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 can not do this, you can't do that.’ I’m going to prove that I can and give absolutely everything. The other thing about my character is: I’m pretty headstrong. If I see possibility, I’m doing it.'

Analytical Approach and the Struggle 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 analytics from a recent 2-2 draw, displaying a slide he showed his players. {'The team hit many, many season peaks,' he points out, highlighting ball progression and statistics about penetrating defensive lines. Passing accuracy was shown as 87%. {'Not satisfied with that … that needs to be in the 90-95% range,' he insists. {'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 chance to find its target than just hoofing it all the time.'

The broader numbers present grim 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 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 earned a crucial point. {'We need to be a dominant side at home,' Fuchs stresses. {'It’s just not acceptable, not even having a win. We need to build a stronghold.'

In the Thick of It at Heart

By his own confession, Fuchs likes a challenge. {'What’s so wrong with that?' He hung up his boots 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 inside,' he states, tapping his chest. {'At training I’m always getting involved in the boxes – two nutmegs already, yes! I want us to view each other as a single unit. Yes, you’re the ones on the field, but we’re a collective, we’re striving towards this collectively.'