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'I estimate that the chances of us turning the season around are less than Leicester lifting the Premier League, so they are in our favour, right?' Christian Fuchs is reflecting on his new life as boss of Newport County, and the immense task of averting a descent into non-league football. It is a challenge at the polar opposite of the spectrum of success, though that unbelievable title win in 2016 furnished him a great deal more than a Premier League trophy. {'It assisted in altering my outlook a little bit ... it showed that the impossible can be achievable,' he states.

The Illogical Path to Rodney Parade

The natural place to start is: what was the journey that led Fuchs wind up here? 'I guess that's the part that's illogical, right?' he comments, letting out a laugh. This serves as the 39-year-old's opening gambit and a clear demonstration of his playful character across a wide-ranging conversation. Discourse flows in different directions, from playing for Thomas Tuchel and Brendan Rodgers to the urgent quest to find a nearby hairdresser.

He looks at some correspondence on his desk. Included is a letter from a Leicester supporter wishing him well, along with a couple of professional photographs from that campaign. {'Young Fuchs,' he remarks, grinning. Another delivery brings a hoard of old collector's items, one from an album marking 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 Previous Visit and a Typographical Error

Until returning from North Carolina to accept his first job in frontline management last month, Fuchs’s last trip to Rodney Parade was in January 2019, when Leicester were on the end of a Newport cupset in the FA Cup third round. That day the Newport kit man duelled against Fuchs. {'He had the match of his career,' Fuchs says. But when the lineup cards dropped, an curious error was discovered. {'You need to redact this,' Fuchs says with a smile. 'They misspelt my name – somehow a 'k' found its way in in place of the 'h'. It is amusing because Fuchs, in German, means fox, so it’s something pleasant.'

Experiences from Claudio, Rodgers and Tuchel

His choice to join the Foxes in the summer of 2015 was inspired. A couple of weeks later Leicester hired Claudio Ranieri and the rest is history. The Italian joined the club in the heart of a pre-season camp in Austria and his hands-off approach did the trick. {'When you look at Claudio you envision an elder gentleman, so experienced in the game, maybe a bit traditional, but he’s so not,' Fuchs explains. {'He just said he was going to observe 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 studied you for a week and I’m not going to change anything.''

Fuchs holds dear experiences from Rodgers and Tuchel, under whom he worked while on loan at Mainz. {'He always thought: ‘How can I get extra out of the players? How can I push them psychologically?’’ Fuchs says of Tuchel. {'That’s a big 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.'

Roots and a Stubborn Mindset

Fuchs’s drive 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 capable enough,' he reveals. {'There are people who let that defeat 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 demonstrate that I can and put in the hard yards. The other thing about my character is: I’m quite stubborn. If I see potential, I’m going for it.'

Analytical Approach and the Fight for Survival

Fuchs’s assistant, Mark Smith, was born in Newport and had been in charge of Fuchs’s Fox Soccer Academy. Fuchs boots up his laptop to show data from a recent 2-2 draw, sharing a slide he presented to his players. {'The team hit many, many season peaks,' he points out, highlighting ball progression and statistics about penetrating defensive lines. Passing accuracy was logged at 87%. {'Not pleased with that … that needs to be in the mid-90s,' he states. {'My first game, it was very direct, League Two football, but we want to be unique. I think a five-yard pass has a higher chance to be successful than just hoofing it all the time.'

The broader numbers present sobering reading. Newport have won 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 precious point. {'We need to be a dominant side at home,' Fuchs says. {'It’s just not satisfactory, not even having a win. We need to create a impenetrable home.'

In the Thick of It at Heart

By his own admission, Fuchs likes a challenge. {'What’s so wrong with that?' He ended his playing career less than three years ago and, like Tuchel, likes being in the thick of things. {'I’m a member of the group. I’m still a player in here,' he remarks, pointing to his chest. {'At training I’m always participating in the drills – two nutmegs already, yes! 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 collectively.'