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'I would say that the chances of us transforming our fortunes are slimmer than Leicester claiming the Premier League, so they are in our favour, right?' Christian Fuchs is talking about his new life as boss of the Football League's bottom club, and the immense task of preventing a descent into non-league football. Here lies a challenge at the complete other end of the scale, though that fairytale title win in 2016 gave him a great deal more than a winner's medal. {'It contributed to shifting my outlook a little bit ... it proved that the impossible can be achievable,' he notes.

The Surprising Path to Rodney Parade

The obvious place to start is: what was the journey that led Fuchs end up here? 'That's the aspect of the story that seems counterintuitive, wouldn't you say?' he comments, breaking into a chuckle. This serves as the 39-year-old's introductory line and a clear indication of his charismatic character across a colourful conversation. Discourse flows in various tangents, from being managed by Thomas Tuchel and Brendan Rodgers to the immediate requirement to find a barber in the area.

He opens some post on his desk. Among it is a message from a Leicester supporter sending best wishes, paired with a couple of professional photographs from that memorable year. {'Young Fuchs,' he muses, grinning. Another package brings a hoard of old stickers, one from an album commemorating Euro 2016, when he led Austria. A card from the Newport Supporters’ Club has pride of place. 'Stuff like this makes me very content,' he adds.

A Previous Visit and a Misspelt Name

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 suffered a Newport cupset in the FA Cup third round. During that match the Newport kit man duelled against Fuchs. {'He had the performance of his career,' Fuchs says. But when the official sheets dropped, an curious error emerged. {'You need to edit this,' Fuchs says with a smile. 'They misspelled 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 pleasant.'

Insights from The Tinkerman, Rodgers and Tuchel

His decision to join the Foxes in the summer of 2015 was inspired. A couple of weeks later Leicester hired Claudio Ranieri and an iconic story unfolded. The Italian arrived at the club in the middle of a pre-season camp in Austria and his hands-off approach did the trick. {'When you look at Claudio you envision an older man, so a veteran of the sport, maybe a bit old school, but he’s anything but,' Fuchs says. {'He just said he was going to watch 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 holds dear insights gained 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 push them psychologically?’’ 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 comparable position to where I am now … very focused, very eager to prove himself.'

Roots and a Determined Mindset

Fuchs’s motivation originates in his upbringing 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 shares. {'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 not do that.’ I’m going to prove that I can and give absolutely everything. The other thing about my character is: I’m quite stubborn. If I see possibility, I’m doing it.'

Detailed Approach and the Battle 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 bests,' he says, emphasizing ball progression and statistics about penetrating defensive lines. Passing accuracy was logged at 87%. {'Not happy with that … that needs to be in the 90-95% range,' he insists. {'My first game, it was very physical, fourth-tier football, but we want to be distinct. I think a five-yard pass has a higher chance to arrive than just launching it all the time.'

The broader numbers present sobering 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 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 valuable point. {'We need to be a power at home,' Fuchs emphasizes. {'It’s just not good enough, not even having a win. We need to construct a stronghold.'

Still a Player 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 states, tapping his chest. {'At training I’m always getting involved in the small-sided games – two megs already, brilliant! I want us to see each other as a unified group. Yes, you’re the ones on the field, but we’re a collective, we’re working on this together.'