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'I estimate that the odds of us transforming our fortunes are less than Leicester winning the Premier League, so they are in our favour, right?' Christian Fuchs is talking about his fresh chapter as head coach of the Football League's bottom club, and the monumental task of staving off a fall into non-league football. This represents a challenge at the polar opposite of the spectrum of success, though that fairytale title win in 2016 gave him much more than a Premier League trophy. {'It helped change my mindset a little bit ... it showed that the impossible can be achievable,' he states.

The Surprising Path to Rodney Parade

The logical place to start is: what brought Fuchs find himself here? 'I imagine that's the part that's unpredictable, right?' he states, breaking into a chuckle. This serves as the 39-year-old's initial statement and a clear demonstration of his playful character across a fascinating conversation. Discourse flows in various tangents, from playing for the current England boss and Brendan Rodgers to the pressing need to find a local barber.

He sorts through some mail on his desk. Among it is a message from a Leicester supporter sending best wishes, accompanied by a couple of shiny pictures from that memorable year. {'Young Fuchs,' he muses, smiling. Another envelope brings a stash of old collector's items, one from an album celebrating Euro 2016, when he skippered Austria. A note from the Newport Supporters’ Club is given special attention. 'Stuff like this really makes me very pleased,' he states.

A Past Trip and a Typographical Error

Prior to his move back from North Carolina to assume his first job in senior management last month, Fuchs’s previous visit to Rodney Parade was in January 2019, when Leicester suffered a Newport shock defeat in the FA Cup third round. On that occasion the Newport kit man competed with Fuchs. {'He had the match of his life,' Fuchs admits. But when the teamsheets were released, an curious 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 pleasant.'

Experiences from Claudio, Rodgers and Tuchel

His move to join the Foxes in the summer of 2015 turned out to be brilliant. A couple of weeks later Leicester hired Claudio Ranieri and an iconic story unfolded. The Italian came to 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 seasoned professional, so a veteran of the sport, maybe a bit old school, but he’s the complete opposite,' Fuchs says. {'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 change anything.''

Fuchs holds dear 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 mentally?’’ Fuchs says of Tuchel. {'That’s a significant part of our philosophy as well. How can you make good players who choose wisely? Back then he was probably in a similar situation to where I am now … very motivated, very keen to prove himself.'

Roots and a Determined Character

Fuchs’s motivation stems from his early years 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 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 can not do this, you cannot do that.’ I’m going to show that I can and put in the hard yards. The other thing about my make-up is: I’m quite determined. If I see potential, I’m doing it.'

Detailed Approach and the Battle for Survival

Fuchs’s assistant, Mark Smith, was born in Newport and had been in charge of Fuchs’s Fox Soccer Academy. Fuchs fires up his laptop to show statistics from a recent 2-2 draw, presenting a slide he presented to his players. {'The team hit several season peaks,' he explains, highlighting ball progression and statistics about getting behind defensive lines. Passing accuracy was logged at 87%. {'Not satisfied with that … that needs to be in the 90-95% range,' he declares. {'My first game, it was very long-ball, League Two 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 general 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 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 satisfactory, not even having a win. We need to build a fortress.'

In the Thick of It at Heart

By his own confession, Fuchs likes a challenge. {'What’s so wrong with that?' He retired 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 at heart,' he says, tapping his chest. {'At training I’m always joining in in the small-sided games – two megs already, yes! 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.'