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'The prospect of a late surge is arguably less likely than that fabled 5,000-1 title, which strangely puts the odds in our favor.' Christian Fuchs is talking about his fresh chapter as manager of the Football League's bottom club, and the daunting task of staving off a drop into non-league football. It is a challenge at the polar opposite of the spectrum, though that fairytale title win in 2016 gave him far more than a champion's gong. {'It assisted in altering my mindset a little bit ... it showed that the impossible can be attainable,' he notes.

'How Did Fuchs End Up Here?'

The natural place to start is: what brought Fuchs find himself here? 'That's the element of the story that isn't straightforward, wouldn't you say?' he says, letting out a laugh. This remark acts as the 39-year-old's introductory line and a clear indication of his playful character across a wide-ranging conversation. Discourse flows in multiple pathways, from playing for Thomas Tuchel and Brendan Rodgers to the immediate requirement to find a local barber.

He looks at some correspondence on his desk. Included is a letter from a Leicester supporter wishing him well, accompanied by a couple of professional photographs from that memorable year. {'Young Fuchs,' he muses, with a smile. Another delivery brings a collection of old collector's items, one from an album commemorating Euro 2016, when he led Austria. A card from the Newport Supporters’ Club is displayed prominently. Things like this really makes me very pleased,' he adds.

A Previous Visit and a Misspelt Name

Prior to his move back from North Carolina to accept his first job in first-team coaching last month, Fuchs’s previous visit to Rodney Parade was in January 2019, when Leicester endured a Newport giantkilling in the FA Cup third round. On that occasion a former full-back competed with Fuchs. {'He had the match of his career,' Fuchs says. But when the lineup cards dropped, an interesting error was discovered. {'You need to edit this,' Fuchs remarks. '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 nice.'

Lessons from Claudio, 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 an iconic story unfolded. The Italian came to the club in the middle of a pre-season camp in Austria and his observational approach worked wonders. {'When you observe Claudio you envision an seasoned professional, so long in the business, maybe a bit traditional, but he’s so not,' 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 experiences from Rodgers and Tuchel, under whom he worked while on loan at Mainz. {'He always pondered: ‘How can I get additional out of the players? How can I challenge them mentally?’’ Fuchs says of Tuchel. {'That’s a major part of our methodology as well. How can you make good decision-makers? Back then he was probably in a comparable position to where I am now … very motivated, very eager to prove himself.'

Background and a Resolute Mindset

Fuchs’s determination comes from his childhood 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 good enough,' he discloses. {'There are people who let that get the better of them or there are people who say: ‘Forget you, 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 give absolutely everything. The other thing about my make-up is: I’m pretty 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 analytics from a recent 2-2 draw, displaying a slide he presented to his players. {'The team hit several season bests,' he says, noting ball progression and statistics about getting behind defensive lines. Passing accuracy was logged at 87%. {'Not satisfied with that … that needs to be in the 90-95% range,' he insists. {'My first game, it was very long-ball, fourth-tier football, but we want to be distinct. I think a five-yard pass has a higher probability to be successful than just going long all the time.'

The broader numbers make 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 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 earned a valuable point. {'We need to be a dominant side at home,' Fuchs says. {'It’s just not satisfactory, not even having a win. We need to create a stronghold.'

One of the Lads at Heart

By his own confession, Fuchs enjoys a challenge. {'What’s so bad with that?' He retired less than three years ago and, like Tuchel, loves being in the middle of the action. {'I’m a component of the group. I’m still a player at heart,' he states, tapping his chest. {'At training I’m always participating in the drills – two pannas already, yes! I want us to see each other as a unified group. Yes, you’re the ones on the field, but we’re a collective, we’re tackling this together.'