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'I would say 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 reflecting on his new life as boss of the Football League's bottom club, and the daunting task of staving off a descent into non-league football. Here lies a challenge at the polar opposite of the spectrum of success, though that fairytale title win in 2016 provided him with far more than a champion's gong. {'It helped change my mindset a little bit ... it demonstrated that the unattainable can be possible,' he states.

The Surprising Path to Rodney Parade

The natural place to start is: what was the journey that led Fuchs find himself here? 'I guess that's the part that's unpredictable, right?' he comments, letting out a laugh. This remark acts as the 39-year-old's opening gambit and a clear sign of his charismatic character across a wide-ranging conversation. Discourse flows in various tangents, from working under the current England boss and Brendan Rodgers to the urgent quest to find a local barber.

He looks at some mail on his desk. Included is a letter from a Leicester supporter offering encouragement, along with a couple of professional photographs from that campaign. {'Young Fuchs,' he says, with a smile. Another envelope brings a collection of old Panini stickers, one from an album celebrating Euro 2016, when he led Austria. A greeting from the Newport Supporters’ Club has pride of place. Things like this makes me very pleased,' he adds.

A Past Trip and a Typographical Error

Until returning from North Carolina to take on his first job in senior management last month, Fuchs’s most recent encounter to Rodney Parade was in January 2019, when Leicester were on the end of a Newport shock defeat in the FA Cup third round. On that occasion a former full-back competed with Fuchs. {'He had the game of his life,' Fuchs says. But when the official sheets came out, an curious error was discovered. {'You need to censor this,' Fuchs remarks. 'They got wrong 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 Claudio, Rodgers and Tuchel

His decision to join the Foxes in the summer of 2015 turned out to be a masterstroke. A couple of weeks later Leicester brought in Claudio Ranieri and an iconic story unfolded. The Italian came to the club in the middle of a pre-season camp in Austria and his light-touch approach did the trick. {'When you see Claudio you envision an elder gentleman, so long in the business, maybe a bit set in his ways, but he’s the complete opposite,' Fuchs says. {'He just said he was going to monitor 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 change anything.''

Fuchs cherishes experiences from Rodgers and Tuchel, under whom he worked while on loan at Mainz. {'He always considered: ‘How can I get additional out of the players? How can I test them psychologically?’’ Fuchs says of Tuchel. {'That’s a significant part of our methodology 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 driven, very anxious to prove himself.'

Origins and a Stubborn Nature

Fuchs’s determination stems from his early years 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 skilled enough,' he discloses. {'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 not do this, you cannot do that.’ I’m going to demonstrate that I can and work my socks off. The other thing about my character is: I’m quite determined. If I see possibility, I’m going for it.'

Data-Driven 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 statistics from a recent 2-2 draw, displaying a slide he presented to his players. {'The team hit numerous season peaks,' he explains, noting ball progression and statistics about getting behind defensive lines. Passing accuracy was shown as 87%. {'Not pleased with that … that needs to be in the mid-90s,' he insists. {'My first game, it was very direct, fourth-tier football, but we want to be unique. I think a five-yard pass has a higher probability to arrive than just hoofing it all the time.'

The overarching numbers present sobering reading. Newport have managed 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 93rd-minute equaliser with 10 men earned a crucial point. {'We need to be a force at home,' Fuchs says. {'It’s just not acceptable, not even having a win. We need to create a impenetrable home.'

In the Thick of It at Heart

By his own acknowledgement, Fuchs likes a challenge. {'What’s so bad with that?' He hung up his boots less than three years ago and, like Tuchel, enjoys being in the heart of the battle. {'I’m a component of the group. I’m still a player in here,' he states, tapping his chest. {'At training I’m always joining in in the boxes – two pannas already, yes! I want us to see each other as one team. Yes, you’re the ones on the field, but we’re one team, we’re tackling this collectively.'