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'I reckon that the likelihood of us transforming our fortunes are less than Leicester lifting the Premier League, so they are in our favour, right?' Christian Fuchs is discussing his new life as manager of the League Two strugglers, and the immense task of preventing a fall into non-league football. It is a challenge at the polar opposite of the spectrum of success, though that unbelievable title win in 2016 provided him with a great deal more than a winner's medal. {'It helped change my outlook a little bit ... it demonstrated that the impossible can be attainable,' he states.

'How Did Fuchs Find Himself Here?'

The logical place to start is: what was the journey that led Fuchs find himself here? 'I imagine that's the part that's unpredictable, right?' he comments, breaking into a chuckle. This serves as the 39-year-old's initial statement and a clear sign of his playful character across a colourful conversation. Discourse travels in various tangents, from being managed by Thomas Tuchel and the former Leicester manager to the pressing need to find a nearby hairdresser.

He looks at some correspondence on his desk. There is a note from a Leicester supporter wishing him well, accompanied by a couple of shiny pictures from that memorable year. {'Young Fuchs,' he says, smiling. Another envelope brings a hoard of old stickers, one from an album commemorating Euro 2016, when he captained Austria. A note from the Newport Supporters’ Club is displayed prominently. Things like this really makes me very happy,' he concludes.

A Previous Visit and a Funny Mistake

Prior to his move back 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 suffered a Newport cupset in the FA Cup third round. That day David Pipe competed with Fuchs. {'He had the match of his life,' Fuchs says. But when the lineup cards were released, an curious error emerged. {'You need to redact this,' Fuchs jokes. 'They got wrong 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.'

Experiences from Ranieri, Rodgers and Tuchel

His move to join the Foxes in the summer of 2015 was a masterstroke. A couple of weeks later Leicester brought in Claudio Ranieri and the rest is history. The Italian joined 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 imagine an older man, 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 change anything.''

Fuchs holds dear lessons learned from Rodgers and Tuchel, under whom he worked while on loan at Mainz. {'He always considered: ‘How can I get more out of the players? How can I challenge them mentally?’’ Fuchs says of Tuchel. {'That’s a significant part of our philosophy as well. How can you make good decision-makers? Back then he was probably in a comparable position to where I am now … very focused, very eager to prove himself.'

Origins and a Resolute Mindset

Fuchs’s motivation stems from his upbringing 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 skilled enough,' he reveals. {'There are people who let that defeat 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 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 very stubborn. If I see possibility, I’m going for it.'

Analytical Approach and the Struggle for Survival

Fuchs’s assistant, Mark Smith, was born in Newport and had been in charge of Fuchs’s Fox Soccer Academy. Fuchs fires up his laptop to show analytics from a recent 2-2 draw, sharing a slide he presented to his players. {'The team hit several season highs,' he explains, emphasizing ball progression and statistics about penetrating defensive lines. Passing accuracy was recorded at 87%. {'Not happy with that … that needs to be in the 90-95% range,' he insists. {'My first game, it was very physical, League Two football, but we want to be unique. I think a five-yard pass has a higher probability to be successful than just launching it all the time.'

The general numbers present bleak reading. Newport have won 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 secured a valuable point. {'We need to be a force at home,' Fuchs says. {'It’s just not satisfactory, not even having a win. We need to construct a stronghold.'

In the Thick of It at Heart

By his own confession, Fuchs likes a challenge. {'What’s so negative with that?' He retired less than three years ago and, like Tuchel, likes being in the middle of the action. {'I’m a member of the group. I’m still a player inside,' he remarks, tapping his chest. {'At training I’m always participating in the boxes – two megs 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 tackling this collectively.'