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'I estimate that the odds of us reviving our campaign are slimmer than Leicester winning the Premier League, so they are in our favor, right?' Christian Fuchs is talking about his recent venture as manager of Newport County, and the monumental task of staving off a descent into non-league football. Here lies a challenge at the polar opposite of the scale, though that unbelievable title win in 2016 gave him a great deal more than a winner's medal. {'It contributed to shifting my mindset a little bit ... it showed that the unattainable can be attainable,' he remarks.

'How Did Fuchs End Up Here?'

The obvious place to start is: how did Fuchs end up here? 'I suppose that's the part that's unpredictable, right?' he states, letting out a laugh. This serves as the 39-year-old's initial statement and a clear indication of his engaging character across a wide-ranging conversation. Discourse travels in different directions, from playing for the current England boss and Brendan Rodgers to the urgent quest to find a local barber.

He sorts through some correspondence on his desk. Included is a letter from a Leicester supporter sending best wishes, paired with a couple of professional photographs from that memorable year. {'Young Fuchs,' he remarks, grinning. Another envelope brings a hoard of old Panini stickers, one from an album celebrating Euro 2016, when he skippered Austria. A greeting from the Newport Supporters’ Club has pride of place. Things like this makes me very pleased,' he adds.

A Previous Visit and a Typographical Error

Until returning from North Carolina to assume his first job in frontline management 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. That day a former full-back duelled against Fuchs. {'He had the match of his career,' Fuchs recalls. But when the teamsheets came out, an amusing error came to light. {'You need to censor this,' Fuchs jokes. 'They misspelled my name – somehow a 'k' found its way in in place of the 'h'. It is hilarious because Fuchs, in German, means fox, so it’s something pleasant.'

Lessons from Ranieri, Rodgers and Tuchel

His choice to join the Foxes in the summer of 2015 was 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 light-touch approach produced miracles. {'When you see Claudio you picture an seasoned professional, 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 watched you for a week and I’m not going to change anything.''

Fuchs values experiences 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 test them mentally?’’ 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 comparable position to where I am now … very driven, very keen 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 discloses. {'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 can't do that.’ I’m going to show that I can and put in the hard yards. The other thing about my personality is: I’m very headstrong. If I see possibility, I’m going for it.'

Data-Driven 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 data from a recent 2-2 draw, displaying a slide he used with his players. {'The team hit several season peaks,' he explains, emphasizing ball progression and statistics about penetrating defensive lines. Passing accuracy was shown as 87%. {'Not pleased with that … that needs to be in the 90-95% range,' he declares. {'My first game, it was very physical, fourth-tier football, but we want to be distinct. I think a five-yard pass has a higher probability to find its target than just hoofing it all the time.'

The broader numbers make grim reading. Newport have managed 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 injury-time equaliser with 10 men secured a crucial point. {'We need to be a power at home,' Fuchs stresses. {'It’s just not acceptable, not even having a win. We need to build a stronghold.'

One of the Lads at Heart

By his own admission, Fuchs relishes a challenge. {'What’s so wrong with that?' He ended his playing career less than three years ago and, like Tuchel, likes being in the thick of things. {'I’m a component of the group. I’m still a player in here,' he states, tapping his chest. {'At training I’m always getting involved in the boxes – two nutmegs already, brilliant! I want us to view each other as a unified group. Yes, you’re the ones on the field, but we’re all in this together, we’re working on this collectively.'