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'I would say that the odds of us turning the season around are lower than Leicester claiming the Premier League, so they are in our benefit, right?' Christian Fuchs is reflecting on his new life as head coach of the Football League's bottom club, and the immense task of preventing a descent into non-league football. Here lies a challenge at the polar opposite of the spectrum, though that miraculous title win in 2016 furnished him far more than a champion's gong. {'It assisted in altering my outlook a little bit ... it demonstrated that the impossible can be achievable,' he states.

'How Did Fuchs End Up Here?'

The logical place to start is: what was the journey that led Fuchs end up here? 'That's the element of the story that seems counterintuitive, wouldn't you say?' he comments, erupting in a laugh. It is the 39-year-old's initial statement and a clear sign of his playful character across a wide-ranging conversation. The discussion flows in different directions, from working under Thomas Tuchel and the former Leicester manager to the pressing need to find a local barber.

He opens some mail on his desk. Among it is a note from a Leicester supporter wishing him well, accompanied by a couple of glossy photos from that campaign. {'Young Fuchs,' he muses, smiling. Another package brings a hoard of old collector's items, one from an album commemorating Euro 2016, when he skippered Austria. A greeting from the Newport Supporters’ Club has pride of place. 'Stuff like this genuinely makes me very content,' he concludes.

A Prior Encounter and a Funny Mistake

Prior to returning from North Carolina to assume his first job in senior management last month, Fuchs’s most recent encounter to Rodney Parade was in January 2019, when Leicester suffered a Newport giantkilling in the FA Cup third round. That day the Newport kit man faced off against Fuchs. {'He had the performance of his life,' Fuchs admits. But when the official sheets came out, an amusing error was discovered. {'You need to edit this,' Fuchs jokes. 'They got wrong 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 fitting.'

Insights from The Tinkerman, Rodgers and Tuchel

His move to join the Foxes in the summer of 2015 was a masterstroke. A couple of weeks later Leicester brought in Claudio Ranieri and what followed is legendary. The Italian joined the club in the midst of a pre-season camp in Austria and his observational approach did the trick. {'When you look at Claudio you envision an older man, so a veteran of the sport, maybe a bit traditional, but he’s the complete opposite,' Fuchs explains. {'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 observed you for a week and I’m not going to alter 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 more 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 thinkers on the pitch? Back then he was probably in a similar situation to where I am now … very focused, very keen to prove himself.'

Background and a Determined Character

Fuchs’s motivation originates in his early years 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 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't do that.’ I’m going to prove that I can and work my socks off. The other thing about my character is: I’m very stubborn. If I see promise, I’m making it happen.'

Analytical Approach and the Struggle for Survival

Fuchs’s assistant, Mark Smith, was born in Newport and formerly ran Fuchs’s Fox Soccer Academy. Fuchs boots up his laptop to show data from a recent 2-2 draw, presenting a slide he presented to his players. {'The team hit several season peaks,' he says, emphasizing ball progression and statistics about penetrating defensive lines. Passing accuracy was recorded at 87%. {'Not satisfied with that … that needs to be in the 90-95% range,' he declares. {'My first game, it was very direct, fourth-tier football, but we want to be unique. I think a five-yard pass has a higher percentage to be successful than just going long all the time.'

The general numbers paint sobering 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 injury-time equaliser with 10 men secured a crucial point. {'We need to be a force at home,' Fuchs emphasizes. {'It’s just not good enough, not even having a win. We need to build a impenetrable home.'

In the Thick of It at Heart

By his own acknowledgement, Fuchs enjoys a challenge. {'What’s so bad with that?' He ended his playing career less than three years ago and, like Tuchel, enjoys being in the heart of the battle. {'I’m a part of the group. I’m still a player in here,' he states, pointing to his chest. {'At training I’m always participating in the small-sided games – two pannas already, yes! I want us to view each other as a single unit. Yes, you’re the ones on the field, but we’re one team, we’re striving towards this collectively.'