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'I would say that the odds of us transforming our fortunes are less than Leicester claiming the Premier League, so they are in our benefit, right?' Christian Fuchs is reflecting on his fresh chapter as boss of the Football League's bottom club, and the monumental task of averting a drop into non-league football. Here lies a challenge at the complete other end of the spectrum, though that unbelievable title win in 2016 provided him with much more than a champion's gong. {'It assisted in altering my outlook a little bit ... it demonstrated that the impossible can be attainable,' he notes.

'How Did Fuchs Find Himself Here?'

The logical place to start is: how did Fuchs find himself here? 'I guess that's the part that's unpredictable, right?' he says, erupting in a laugh. This remark acts as the 39-year-old's introductory line and a clear demonstration of his charismatic character across a wide-ranging conversation. Our talk flows in various tangents, from working under Thomas Tuchel and Brendan Rodgers to the immediate requirement to find a local barber.

He sorts through some post on his desk. Among it is a letter from a Leicester supporter offering encouragement, accompanied by a couple of glossy photos from that memorable year. {'Young Fuchs,' he remarks, with a smile. Another package brings a collection of old Panini stickers, one from an album celebrating Euro 2016, when he captained Austria. A greeting from the Newport Supporters’ Club is displayed prominently. Items like this really makes me very content,' he concludes.

A Prior Encounter and a Misspelt Name

Until coming back from North Carolina to take on his first job in first-team coaching 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. During that match David Pipe duelled against Fuchs. {'He had the game of his life,' Fuchs admits. But when the lineup cards came out, an interesting error was discovered. {'You need to censor this,' Fuchs jokes. 'They misspelled my name – somehow a 'k' smuggled itself in in place of the 'h'. It is amusing because Fuchs, in German, means fox, so it’s something nice.'

Lessons 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 what followed is legendary. The Italian came to the club in the heart of a pre-season camp in Austria and his light-touch approach did the trick. {'When you look at Claudio you imagine an older man, so long in the business, maybe a bit old school, but he’s so not,' Fuchs says. {'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 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 considered: ‘How can I get extra out of the players? How can I challenge them psychologically?’’ Fuchs says of Tuchel. {'That’s a significant part of our philosophy as well. How can you make good thinkers on the pitch? Back then he was probably in a comparable position to where I am now … very driven, very eager to prove himself.'

Roots and a Resolute Nature

Fuchs’s motivation stems 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 shares. {'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't do this, you cannot do that.’ I’m going to prove that I can and work my socks off. The other thing about my personality is: I’m very 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 previously led Fuchs’s Fox Soccer Academy. Fuchs opens his laptop to show data from a recent 2-2 draw, presenting a slide he showed his players. {'The team hit several season peaks,' he explains, emphasizing ball progression and statistics about penetrating 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 direct, League Two football, but we want to be distinct. I think a five-yard pass has a higher probability to be successful than just launching it all the time.'

The general numbers make bleak reading. Newport have won three of 19 league matches and are winless 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 garnered a valuable point. {'We need to be a power at home,' Fuchs says. {'It’s just not satisfactory, not even having a win. We need to create a fortress.'

In the Thick of It at Heart

By his own confession, Fuchs enjoys a challenge. {'What’s so bad with that?' He hung up his boots less than three years ago and, like Tuchel, loves being in the heart of the battle. {'I’m a member of the group. I’m still a player at heart,' he states, indicating his chest. {'At training I’m always getting involved in the boxes – two megs already, brilliant! I want us to regard each other as one team. Yes, you’re the ones on the field, but we’re all in this together, we’re striving towards this collectively.'