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'I reckon that the chances of us reviving our campaign are less than Leicester lifting the Premier League, so they are in our favour, right?' Christian Fuchs is talking about his fresh chapter as head coach of the League Two strugglers, and the daunting task of preventing a drop into non-league football. This represents a challenge at the complete other end of the spectrum of success, though that miraculous title win in 2016 furnished him much more than a Premier League trophy. {'It assisted in altering my outlook a little bit ... it proved that the unattainable can be attainable,' he states.

The Surprising Path to Rodney Parade

The logical place to start is: what was the journey that led Fuchs end up here? 'That's the aspect of the story that isn't straightforward, wouldn't you say?' he states, erupting in laughter. This serves as the 39-year-old's opening gambit and a clear demonstration of his charismatic character across a colourful conversation. Our talk flows in multiple pathways, from playing for the current England boss and Brendan Rodgers to the immediate requirement to find a local barber.

He looks at some post on his desk. Included is a message from a Leicester supporter offering encouragement, along with a couple of professional photographs from that season. {'Young Fuchs,' he says, smiling. Another envelope brings a stash of old collector's items, one from an album marking Euro 2016, when he captained Austria. A note from the Newport Supporters’ Club is displayed prominently. 'Stuff like this really makes me very pleased,' he concludes.

A Past Trip and a Typographical Error

Until returning from North Carolina to assume his first job in first-team coaching last month, Fuchs’s last trip to Rodney Parade was in January 2019, when Leicester were on the end of a Newport giantkilling in the FA Cup third round. During that match the Newport kit man faced off against Fuchs. {'He had the match of his life,' Fuchs recalls. But when the official sheets came out, an amusing error was discovered. {'You need to censor this,' Fuchs jokes. 'They misspelt my name – somehow a 'k' smuggled itself in in place of the 'h'. It is hilarious because Fuchs, in German, means fox, so it’s something nice.'

Insights from Claudio, Rodgers and Tuchel

His decision to join the Foxes in the summer of 2015 turned out to be inspired. A couple of weeks later Leicester brought in Claudio Ranieri and the rest is history. The Italian came to the club in the heart of a pre-season camp in Austria and his light-touch approach worked wonders. {'When you look at Claudio you picture an seasoned professional, so a veteran of the sport, maybe a bit old school, but he’s the complete opposite,' Fuchs explains. {'He just said he was going to monitor training in Austria for the first week. He remained on the sidelines 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 holds dear lessons learned from Rodgers and Tuchel, under whom he worked while on loan at Mainz. {'He always considered: ‘How can I get more out of the players? How can I challenge them mentally?’’ Fuchs says of Tuchel. {'That’s a big part of our methodology as well. How can you make good thinkers on the pitch? Back then he was probably in a similar situation to where I am now … very motivated, very eager to prove himself.'

Roots and a Stubborn Mindset

Fuchs’s drive comes from 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 skilled enough,' he discloses. {'There are people who let that defeat 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 can't do that.’ I’m going to prove that I can and give absolutely everything. The other thing about my personality is: I’m quite determined. If I see potential, I’m making it happen.'

Detailed 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, presenting a slide he showed his players. {'The team hit many, many season peaks,' he says, noting ball progression and statistics about breaking defensive lines. Passing accuracy was shown as 87%. {'Not happy with that … that needs to be in the 90-95% range,' he insists. {'My first game, it was very long-ball, lower-league football, but we want to be distinct. I think a five-yard pass has a higher probability to be successful than just going long all the time.'

The overarching numbers make grim reading. Newport have won 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 secured three points 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 earned a crucial 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 fortress.'

One of the Lads at Heart

By his own confession, Fuchs likes a challenge. {'What’s so bad with that?' He hung up his boots less than three years ago and, like Tuchel, enjoys being in the middle of the action. {'I’m a member of the group. I’m still a player inside,' he remarks, indicating his chest. {'At training I’m always getting involved in the boxes – two pannas already, yes! I want us to view each other as a single unit. Yes, you’re the ones on the field, but we’re one team, we’re working on this together.'