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'I reckon that the chances of us turning the season around are less than Leicester claiming the Premier League, so they are in our benefit, right?' Christian Fuchs is reflecting on his new life as manager of the Football League's bottom club, and the immense task of staving off a descent into non-league football. This represents a challenge at the polar opposite of the spectrum, though that unbelievable title win in 2016 furnished him a great deal more than a winner's medal. {'It helped change my perspective a little bit ... it showed that the impossible can be attainable,' he remarks.

The Unlikely Path to Rodney Parade

The natural place to start is: what brought Fuchs wind up here? 'I imagine that's the part that's unpredictable, right?' he states, breaking into laughter. This remark acts as the 39-year-old's initial statement and a clear demonstration of his playful character across a fascinating conversation. Our talk runs in multiple pathways, from being managed by the current England boss and the former Leicester manager to the urgent quest to find a barber in the area.

He sorts through some mail on his desk. There is a message from a Leicester supporter sending best wishes, paired with a couple of shiny pictures from that campaign. {'Young Fuchs,' he remarks, smiling. Another package brings a hoard of old stickers, one from an album marking Euro 2016, when he led Austria. A note from the Newport Supporters’ Club has pride of place. Items like this really makes me very pleased,' he adds.

A Past Trip and a Misspelt Name

Until his move back from North Carolina to assume his first job in senior management last month, Fuchs’s last trip to Rodney Parade was in January 2019, when Leicester were on the end of a Newport shock defeat in the FA Cup third round. On that occasion the Newport kit man faced off against Fuchs. {'He had the performance of his life,' Fuchs admits. But when the official sheets came out, an curious error came to light. {'You need to censor this,' Fuchs jokes. 'They misspelled 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 nice.'

Insights from Ranieri, Rodgers and Tuchel

His choice to join the Foxes in the summer of 2015 was brilliant. A couple of weeks later Leicester hired Claudio Ranieri and the rest is history. The Italian joined the club in the middle of a pre-season camp in Austria and his hands-off approach worked wonders. {'When you see Claudio you envision an older man, so experienced in the game, maybe a bit traditional, 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 cherishes experiences from Rodgers and Tuchel, under whom he worked while on loan at Mainz. {'He always pondered: ‘How can I get more 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 players who choose wisely? Back then he was probably in a analogous place to where I am now … very motivated, very anxious to prove himself.'

Background and a Resolute Nature

Fuchs’s determination 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 good enough,' he shares. {'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 cannot do this, you can't do that.’ I’m going to demonstrate that I can and give absolutely everything. The other thing about my personality is: I’m quite stubborn. If I see promise, I’m going for it.'

Detailed 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 opens his laptop to show analytics from a recent 2-2 draw, displaying a slide he used with his players. {'The team hit several season bests,' he says, emphasizing ball progression and statistics about getting behind defensive lines. Passing accuracy was recorded at 87%. {'Not satisfied with that … that needs to be in the 90-95% range,' he states. {'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 probability to arrive than just going long all the time.'

The overarching numbers make bleak reading. Newport have managed 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 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 precious point. {'We need to be a force at home,' Fuchs says. {'It’s just not good enough, not even having a win. We need to build a fortress.'

In the Thick of It at Heart

By his own acknowledgement, Fuchs relishes a challenge. {'What’s so wrong with that?' He hung up his boots less than three years ago and, like Tuchel, loves being in the middle of the action. {'I’m a part of the group. I’m still a player in here,' he remarks, indicating his chest. {'At training I’m always joining in in the small-sided games – two nutmegs already, yes! I want us to regard each other as a unified group. Yes, you’re the ones on the field, but we’re all in this together, we’re tackling this together.'