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'I reckon that the odds of us turning the season around are less than Leicester winning the Premier League, so they are in our benefit, right?' Christian Fuchs is discussing his recent venture as boss of the Football League's bottom club, and the daunting task of averting a descent into non-league football. Here lies a challenge at the polar opposite of the scale, though that unbelievable title win in 2016 provided him with a great deal more than a champion's gong. {'It helped change my outlook a little bit ... it proved that the unthinkable can be achievable,' he states.

The Unlikely Path to Rodney Parade

The natural place to start is: what brought Fuchs find himself here? 'I suppose that's the part that's illogical, right?' he states, breaking into a chuckle. This serves as the 39-year-old's opening gambit and a clear indication of his playful character across a colourful conversation. Discourse runs in various tangents, from working under Thomas Tuchel and Brendan Rodgers to the urgent quest to find a barber in the area.

He looks at some mail on his desk. Among it is a note from a Leicester supporter sending best wishes, along with a couple of professional photographs from that season. {'Young Fuchs,' he muses, with a smile. Another package brings a hoard of old collector's items, one from an album commemorating Euro 2016, when he led Austria. A card from the Newport Supporters’ Club is given special attention. 'Stuff like this really makes me very pleased,' he adds.

A Prior Encounter and a Typographical Error

Prior to his move back from North Carolina to take on his first job in senior management last month, Fuchs’s last trip to Rodney Parade was in January 2019, when Leicester suffered a Newport giantkilling in the FA Cup third round. On that occasion David Pipe faced off against Fuchs. {'He had the game of his career,' Fuchs admits. But when the teamsheets dropped, an curious error emerged. {'You need to edit this,' Fuchs says with a smile. 'They misspelled my name – somehow a 'k' found its way in in place of the 'h'. It is amusing because Fuchs, in German, means fox, so it’s something fitting.'

Insights from The Tinkerman, Rodgers and Tuchel

His move to join the Foxes in the summer of 2015 proved inspired. A couple of weeks later Leicester brought in Claudio Ranieri and an iconic story unfolded. The Italian arrived at the club in the midst of a pre-season camp in Austria and his observational approach worked wonders. {'When you look at Claudio you picture an elder gentleman, so experienced in the game, 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 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 holds dear experiences from Rodgers and Tuchel, under whom he worked while on loan at Mainz. {'He always considered: ‘How can I get extra out of the players? How can I challenge them psychologically?’’ Fuchs says of Tuchel. {'That’s a big part of our methodology 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 anxious to prove himself.'

Origins and a Stubborn Character

Fuchs’s determination 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 skilled enough,' he discloses. {'There are people who let that overcome them or there are people who say: ‘Fuchs you, I’m going to show you.’ I’ve been told too many times: ‘You can not do this, you can not do that.’ I’m going to demonstrate that I can and give absolutely everything. The other thing about my make-up is: I’m very stubborn. If I see possibility, I’m going for it.'

Detailed Approach and the Battle for Survival

Fuchs’s assistant, Mark Smith, was born in Newport and previously led Fuchs’s Fox Soccer Academy. Fuchs fires up his laptop to show statistics from a recent 2-2 draw, sharing a slide he used with his players. {'The team hit many, many season highs,' he explains, noting ball progression and statistics about penetrating defensive lines. Passing accuracy was logged at 87%. {'Not happy with that … that needs to be in the mid-90s,' he declares. {'My first game, it was very direct, fourth-tier football, but we want to be different. I think a five-yard pass has a higher chance to arrive than just launching it all the time.'

The broader numbers present grim 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 injury-time equaliser with 10 men secured a crucial point. {'We need to be a dominant side at home,' Fuchs stresses. {'It’s just not acceptable, not even having a win. We need to create a fortress.'

In the Thick of It at Heart

By his own acknowledgement, Fuchs relishes a challenge. {'What’s so wrong with that?' He retired less than three years ago and, like Tuchel, likes being in the heart of the battle. {'I’m a member of the group. I’m still a player inside,' he says, pointing to his chest. {'At training I’m always participating in the boxes – two megs already, brilliant! 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 striving towards this together.'