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'I would say that the likelihood of us turning the season around are slimmer than Leicester winning the Premier League, so they are in our favour, right?' Christian Fuchs is discussing his new life as boss of Newport County, and the monumental task of preventing a descent into non-league football. Here lies a challenge at the polar opposite of the spectrum, though that fairytale title win in 2016 gave him far more than a winner's medal. {'It contributed to shifting my outlook a little bit ... it showed that the impossible can be achievable,' he notes.

'How Did Fuchs Find Himself Here?'

The obvious place to start is: how did Fuchs find himself here? 'That's the aspect of the story that seems counterintuitive, wouldn't you say?' he states, letting out a chuckle. This serves as the 39-year-old's introductory line and a clear sign of his engaging character across a fascinating conversation. The discussion flows in different directions, from working under Thomas Tuchel and Brendan Rodgers to the urgent quest to find a nearby hairdresser.

He looks at some post on his desk. Among it is a note from a Leicester supporter wishing him well, paired with a couple of shiny pictures from that season. {'Young Fuchs,' he remarks, smiling. Another delivery brings a collection of old stickers, one from an album celebrating Euro 2016, when he captained Austria. A note from the Newport Supporters’ Club is given special attention. 'Stuff like this genuinely makes me very happy,' he concludes.

A Previous Visit and a Funny Mistake

Prior to coming back 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 endured a Newport giantkilling in the FA Cup third round. On that occasion David Pipe duelled against Fuchs. {'He had the match of his career,' Fuchs admits. But when the official sheets dropped, an amusing error emerged. {'You need to redact this,' Fuchs jokes. 'They got wrong my name – somehow a 'k' crept in in place of the 'h'. It is funny because Fuchs, in German, means fox, so it’s something fitting.'

Lessons from The Tinkerman, Rodgers and Tuchel

His move to join the Foxes in the summer of 2015 proved a masterstroke. A couple of weeks later Leicester hired 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 hands-off approach produced miracles. {'When you observe Claudio you picture an seasoned professional, so experienced in the game, maybe a bit traditional, but he’s anything but,' Fuchs states. {'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 modify anything.''

Fuchs values lessons learned from Rodgers and Tuchel, under whom he worked while on loan at Mainz. {'He always pondered: ‘How can I get extra out of the players? How can I challenge 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 analogous place to where I am now … very motivated, very eager to prove himself.'

Background and a Stubborn Nature

Fuchs’s motivation originates in 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 discloses. {'There are people who let that overcome them or there are people who say: ‘Watch me, I’m going to show you.’ I’ve been told too many times: ‘You cannot do this, you cannot do that.’ I’m going to demonstrate that I can and give absolutely everything. The other thing about my character is: I’m very determined. If I see promise, I’m making it happen.'

Detailed Approach and the Fight for Survival

Fuchs’s assistant, Mark Smith, was born in Newport and formerly ran Fuchs’s Fox Soccer Academy. Fuchs opens his laptop to show statistics from a recent 2-2 draw, displaying a slide he showed his players. {'The team hit many, many season peaks,' he points out, emphasizing 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 90-95% range,' he declares. {'My first game, it was very long-ball, lower-league football, but we want to be different. I think a five-yard pass has a higher percentage to be successful than just going long all the time.'

The overarching numbers paint grim reading. Newport have secured 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 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 says. {'It’s just not acceptable, not even having a win. We need to construct a impenetrable home.'

In the Thick of It at Heart

By his own confession, Fuchs relishes a challenge. {'What’s so negative with that?' He retired less than three years ago and, like Tuchel, loves being in the thick of things. {'I’m a part of the group. I’m still a player in here,' he states, pointing to his chest. {'At training I’m always participating in the boxes – 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 a collective, we’re striving towards this as one.'