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'I reckon that the likelihood of us reviving our campaign are slimmer than Leicester lifting the Premier League, so they are in our favour, right?' Christian Fuchs is talking about his new life as boss of Newport County, and the immense task of staving off a descent into non-league football. This represents a challenge at the polar opposite of the scale, though that unbelievable title win in 2016 furnished him much more than a winner's medal. {'It assisted in altering my mindset a little bit ... it demonstrated that the impossible can be achievable,' he remarks.

'How Did Fuchs End Up Here?'

The logical place to start is: what brought Fuchs end up here? 'I suppose that's the part that's illogical, right?' he says, breaking into a laugh. This remark acts as the 39-year-old's initial statement and a clear sign of his charismatic character across a colourful conversation. Our talk travels in various tangents, from playing for the current England boss and the former Leicester manager to the pressing need to find a barber in the area.

He sorts through some mail on his desk. Among it is a note from a Leicester supporter offering encouragement, paired with a couple of glossy photos from that memorable year. {'Young Fuchs,' he muses, with a smile. Another delivery brings a stash of old stickers, one from an album celebrating Euro 2016, when he led Austria. A card from the Newport Supporters’ Club is displayed prominently. Items like this genuinely makes me very happy,' he adds.

A Past Trip and a Misspelt Name

Prior to coming 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 were on the end of a Newport giantkilling in the FA Cup third round. That day the Newport kit man duelled against Fuchs. {'He had the game of his career,' Fuchs recalls. But when the lineup cards were released, an interesting error came to light. {'You need to censor this,' Fuchs says with a smile. 'They misspelled 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 fitting.'

Insights from Ranieri, 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 midst of a pre-season camp in Austria and his light-touch approach produced miracles. {'When you observe Claudio you envision an older man, so a veteran of the sport, maybe a bit old school, but he’s anything but,' Fuchs explains. {'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 watched 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 thought: ‘How can I get additional out of the players? How can I challenge them psychologically?’’ 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 driven, very anxious to prove himself.'

Roots and a Determined Nature

Fuchs’s motivation stems from 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 discloses. {'There are people who let that get the better of 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 can't do that.’ I’m going to show that I can and give absolutely everything. The other thing about my personality is: I’m pretty stubborn. If I see potential, I’m doing it.'

Data-Driven 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 boots up his laptop to show analytics from a recent 2-2 draw, displaying a slide he used with his players. {'The team hit numerous season bests,' he explains, highlighting ball progression and statistics about breaking defensive lines. Passing accuracy was recorded at 87%. {'Not pleased with that … that needs to be in the 90-95% range,' he insists. {'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 percentage to find its target than just hoofing it all the time.'

The broader numbers present grim reading. Newport have won 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 93rd-minute equaliser with 10 men garnered a precious point. {'We need to be a dominant side at home,' Fuchs emphasizes. {'It’s just not satisfactory, not even having a win. We need to create a impenetrable home.'

Still a Player at Heart

By his own acknowledgement, Fuchs likes a challenge. {'What’s so negative with that?' He retired less than three years ago and, like Tuchel, enjoys being in the heart of the battle. {'I’m a component of the group. I’m still a player in here,' he states, tapping his chest. {'At training I’m always joining in in the small-sided games – two megs already, yes! I want us to regard each other as a single unit. Yes, you’re the ones on the field, but we’re one team, we’re tackling this together.'