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'I estimate that the chances of us reviving our campaign are less than Leicester claiming the Premier League, so they are in our favour, right?' Christian Fuchs is reflecting on his recent venture as manager of the League Two strugglers, and the immense task of preventing a drop into non-league football. This represents a challenge at the complete other end of the scale, though that miraculous title win in 2016 provided him with a great deal more than a champion's gong. {'It assisted in altering my mindset a little bit ... it showed that the impossible can be attainable,' he remarks.

'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 states, erupting in a laugh. It is the 39-year-old's initial statement and a clear demonstration of his engaging character across a wide-ranging conversation. Our talk runs in various tangents, from working under Thomas Tuchel and Brendan Rodgers to the immediate requirement to find a nearby hairdresser.

He sorts through some mail on his desk. There is a message from a Leicester supporter sending best wishes, accompanied by a couple of glossy photos from that season. {'Young Fuchs,' he says, with a smile. Another delivery brings a stash of old stickers, one from an album celebrating Euro 2016, when he led Austria. A note from the Newport Supporters’ Club is displayed prominently. Items like this genuinely makes me very pleased,' he adds.

A Past Trip and a Misspelt Name

Prior to coming back from North Carolina to accept his first job in frontline management last month, Fuchs’s previous visit to Rodney Parade was in January 2019, when Leicester endured a Newport cupset in the FA Cup third round. That day the Newport kit man competed with Fuchs. {'He had the performance of his life,' Fuchs admits. But when the teamsheets dropped, an interesting error emerged. {'You need to redact this,' Fuchs remarks. 'They misspelled my name – somehow a 'k' crept in in place of the 'h'. It is hilarious 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 was inspired. A couple of weeks later Leicester brought in 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 hands-off approach did the trick. {'When you see Claudio you imagine an elder gentleman, so experienced in the game, maybe a bit old school, but he’s so not,' Fuchs states. {'He just said he was going to watch training in Austria for the first week. He didn’t get involved 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 cherishes experiences from Rodgers and Tuchel, under whom he worked while on loan at Mainz. {'He always thought: ‘How can I get extra out of the players? How can I test them psychologically?’’ Fuchs says of Tuchel. {'That’s a big part of our approach as well. How can you make good decision-makers? Back then he was probably in a analogous place to where I am now … very motivated, very anxious to prove himself.'

Background and a Determined Nature

Fuchs’s motivation originates in 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 capable enough,' he reveals. {'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 cannot do this, you cannot do that.’ I’m going to prove that I can and work my socks off. The other thing about my character is: I’m pretty headstrong. 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 formerly ran Fuchs’s Fox Soccer Academy. Fuchs opens his laptop to show data from a recent 2-2 draw, displaying a slide he presented to his players. {'The team hit many, many season peaks,' he says, highlighting 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 mid-90s,' he states. {'My first game, it was very long-ball, fourth-tier football, but we want to be unique. I think a five-yard pass has a higher probability to be successful than just launching it all the time.'

The broader numbers present sobering reading. Newport have won three of 19 league matches and are without a victory 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 secured a precious point. {'We need to be a dominant side at home,' Fuchs says. {'It’s just not good enough, not even having a win. We need to build a fortress.'

In the Thick of It at Heart

By his own confession, Fuchs enjoys a challenge. {'What’s so negative with that?' He ended his playing career 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 inside,' he says, tapping his chest. {'At training I’m always participating in the boxes – two nutmegs already, get in! I want us to see each other as one team. Yes, you’re the ones on the field, but we’re all in this together, we’re tackling this as one.'