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'I estimate that the chances of us turning the season around are slimmer than Leicester lifting the Premier League, so they are in our favor, right?' Christian Fuchs is reflecting on his recent venture as head coach of Newport County, and the daunting 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 gave him far more than a champion's gong. {'It contributed to shifting my outlook a little bit ... it showed that the unthinkable can be achievable,' he states.

The Unlikely Path to Rodney Parade

The natural place to start is: how did Fuchs wind up here? 'That's the aspect of the story that seems counterintuitive, wouldn't you say?' he states, letting out laughter. This serves as the 39-year-old's introductory line and a clear demonstration of his playful character across a colourful conversation. The discussion runs in various tangents, from being managed by Thomas Tuchel and Brendan Rodgers to the pressing need to find a local barber.

He opens some post on his desk. Included is a message from a Leicester supporter wishing him well, paired with a couple of glossy photos from that memorable year. {'Young Fuchs,' he remarks, 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 note from the Newport Supporters’ Club has pride of place. Items like this makes me very pleased,' he adds.

A Prior Encounter and a Typographical Error

Prior to 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. On that occasion the Newport kit man competed with Fuchs. {'He had the performance of his life,' Fuchs recalls. But when the teamsheets were released, an curious error came to light. {'You need to censor this,' Fuchs remarks. 'They misspelled my name – somehow a 'k' smuggled itself in in place of the 'h'. It is funny because Fuchs, in German, means fox, so it’s something nice.'

Insights from Ranieri, Rodgers and Tuchel

His move to join the Foxes in the summer of 2015 proved a masterstroke. A couple of weeks later Leicester appointed Claudio Ranieri and the rest is history. The Italian came to the club in the middle of a pre-season camp in Austria and his observational approach worked wonders. {'When you see Claudio you imagine an elder gentleman, so a veteran of the sport, maybe a bit traditional, but he’s so not,' Fuchs states. {'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 studied you for a week and I’m not going to modify anything.''

Fuchs cherishes insights gained 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 push them mentally?’’ Fuchs says of Tuchel. {'That’s a significant part of our approach 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 focused, very anxious to prove himself.'

Origins and a Resolute Mindset

Fuchs’s determination originates in his upbringing 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 overcome 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 demonstrate that I can and give absolutely everything. The other thing about my make-up is: I’m very headstrong. If I see promise, I’m going for it.'

Detailed Approach and the Struggle for Survival

Fuchs’s assistant, Mark Smith, was born in Newport and previously led Fuchs’s Fox Soccer Academy. Fuchs boots up his laptop to show analytics from a recent 2-2 draw, presenting a slide he presented to his players. {'The team hit several season highs,' he explains, highlighting ball progression and statistics about getting behind defensive lines. Passing accuracy was shown as 87%. {'Not pleased with that … that needs to be in the 90-95% range,' he states. {'My first game, it was very physical, League Two football, but we want to be distinct. I think a five-yard pass has a higher chance to find its target than just going long all the time.'

The general numbers make grim reading. Newport have secured 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 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 valuable point. {'We need to be a power at home,' Fuchs emphasizes. {'It’s just not good enough, not even having a win. We need to construct a fortress.'

In the Thick of It 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, likes being in the heart of the battle. {'I’m a component of the group. I’m still a player inside,' he remarks, tapping his chest. {'At training I’m always participating in the boxes – two megs already, get in! 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 working on this collectively.'