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'I estimate that the chances of us reviving our campaign are lower than Leicester winning the Premier League, so they are in our favor, right?' Christian Fuchs is discussing his recent venture as head coach of the League Two strugglers, and the daunting task of staving off a descent into non-league football. It is a challenge at the polar opposite of the scale, though that miraculous title win in 2016 furnished him a great deal more than a champion's gong. {'It assisted in altering my outlook a little bit ... it proved that the unattainable can be possible,' he notes.

The Unlikely Path to Rodney Parade

The natural place to start is: how did Fuchs wind up here? 'That's the part of the story that seems counterintuitive, wouldn't you say?' he comments, breaking into laughter. This serves as the 39-year-old's opening gambit and a clear indication of his engaging character across a wide-ranging conversation. The discussion flows in various tangents, from working under Thomas Tuchel and the former Leicester manager to the urgent quest to find a barber in the area.

He looks at some mail on his desk. Among it is a message from a Leicester supporter wishing him well, accompanied by a couple of glossy photos from that season. {'Young Fuchs,' he says, smiling. Another envelope brings a collection of old collector's items, one from an album celebrating Euro 2016, when he skippered Austria. A greeting from the Newport Supporters’ Club is displayed prominently. Things like this makes me very happy,' he adds.

A Past Trip and a Typographical Error

Until coming back from North Carolina to take on his first job in first-team coaching last month, Fuchs’s last trip to Rodney Parade was in January 2019, when Leicester suffered a Newport cupset in the FA Cup third round. That day David Pipe faced off against Fuchs. {'He had the match of his career,' Fuchs recalls. But when the lineup cards came out, an curious error was discovered. {'You need to censor this,' Fuchs says with a smile. 'They got wrong my name – somehow a 'k' smuggled itself in in place of the 'h'. It is funny because Fuchs, in German, means fox, so it’s something pleasant.'

Experiences from The Tinkerman, Rodgers and Tuchel

His decision to join the Foxes in the summer of 2015 proved inspired. A couple of weeks later Leicester brought in Claudio Ranieri and what followed is legendary. The Italian joined the club in the heart of a pre-season camp in Austria and his observational approach produced miracles. {'When you see Claudio you envision an older man, so long in the business, maybe a bit traditional, but he’s the complete opposite,' 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 observed you for a week and I’m not going to alter anything.''

Fuchs values lessons learned from Rodgers and Tuchel, under whom he worked while on loan at Mainz. {'He always thought: ‘How can I get additional out of the players? How can I test them mentally?’’ Fuchs says of Tuchel. {'That’s a significant part of our approach 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 anxious to prove himself.'

Background and a Stubborn Nature

Fuchs’s drive stems from his early years 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 good enough,' he discloses. {'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 cannot do this, you can not do that.’ I’m going to prove that I can and put in the hard yards. The other thing about my personality is: I’m quite determined. If I see potential, I’m making it happen.'

Data-Driven Approach and the Battle 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 data from a recent 2-2 draw, displaying a slide he showed his players. {'The team hit several season highs,' he points out, highlighting ball progression and statistics about getting behind defensive lines. Passing accuracy was recorded at 87%. {'Not happy with that … that needs to be in the mid-90s,' he declares. {'My first game, it was very physical, fourth-tier football, but we want to be different. I think a five-yard pass has a higher chance to find its target than just going long all the time.'

The overarching numbers paint bleak 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 won a game at home for 273 days and have kept just two clean sheets in 26 matches this season. But a recent injury-time equaliser with 10 men garnered a precious point. {'We need to be a dominant side at home,' Fuchs emphasizes. {'It’s just not acceptable, not even having a win. We need to construct a stronghold.'

Still a Player at Heart

By his own acknowledgement, Fuchs enjoys a challenge. {'What’s so wrong with that?' He retired less than three years ago and, like Tuchel, loves being in the heart of the battle. {'I’m a part of the group. I’m still a player in here,' he says, indicating his chest. {'At training I’m always joining in in the drills – two megs already, brilliant! I want us to view each other as a single unit. Yes, you’re the ones on the field, but we’re all in this together, we’re tackling this as one.'