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'I reckon that the likelihood of us turning the season around are lower than Leicester winning the Premier League, so they are in our benefit, right?' Christian Fuchs is talking about his recent venture as manager of Newport County, and the monumental task of averting a drop into non-league football. This represents a challenge at the polar opposite of the spectrum of success, though that fairytale title win in 2016 gave him a great deal more than a winner's medal. {'It helped change my outlook a little bit ... it showed that the unattainable can be attainable,' he remarks.

'How Did Fuchs Wind Up Here?'

The obvious place to start is: what brought Fuchs wind up here? 'I imagine that's the part that's unpredictable, right?' he says, breaking into a laugh. This remark acts as the 39-year-old's opening gambit and a clear demonstration of his playful character across a wide-ranging conversation. Our talk flows in various tangents, from being managed by the current England boss and the former Leicester manager to the urgent quest to find a barber in the area.

He opens some correspondence on his desk. There is a message from a Leicester supporter offering encouragement, accompanied by a couple of glossy photos from that season. {'Young Fuchs,' he muses, smiling. Another delivery brings a hoard of old Panini stickers, one from an album commemorating Euro 2016, when he captained Austria. A card from the Newport Supporters’ Club has pride of place. Items like this makes me very happy,' he adds.

A Past Trip and a Funny Mistake

Until returning from North Carolina to accept his first job in senior management last month, Fuchs’s most recent encounter to Rodney Parade was in January 2019, when Leicester endured a Newport giantkilling in the FA Cup third round. During that match David Pipe competed with Fuchs. {'He had the performance of his life,' Fuchs recalls. But when the lineup cards dropped, an amusing error was discovered. {'You need to censor this,' Fuchs says with a smile. 'They misspelt 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 fitting.'

Insights from Claudio, Rodgers and Tuchel

His decision to join the Foxes in the summer of 2015 turned out to be brilliant. A couple of weeks later Leicester appointed Claudio Ranieri and what followed is legendary. The Italian joined the club in the midst of a pre-season camp in Austria and his light-touch approach did the trick. {'When you look at Claudio you picture an older man, so long in the business, maybe a bit old school, but he’s anything but,' Fuchs explains. {'He just said he was going to observe 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 alter anything.''

Fuchs values insights gained 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 test them mentally?’’ Fuchs says of Tuchel. {'That’s a significant 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 Stubborn Character

Fuchs’s drive originates in 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 good enough,' he reveals. {'There are people who let that defeat 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 not do that.’ I’m going to demonstrate that I can and put in the hard yards. The other thing about my character is: I’m very stubborn. If I see promise, I’m going for it.'

Analytical Approach and the Fight for Survival

Fuchs’s assistant, Mark Smith, was born in Newport and had been in charge of Fuchs’s Fox Soccer Academy. Fuchs fires up his laptop to show data from a recent 2-2 draw, presenting a slide he used with his players. {'The team hit several season peaks,' he explains, noting ball progression and statistics about penetrating defensive lines. Passing accuracy was shown as 87%. {'Not happy with that … that needs to be in the mid-90s,' he insists. {'My first game, it was very direct, lower-league football, but we want to be different. I think a five-yard pass has a higher probability to arrive than just hoofing it all the time.'

The overarching numbers make grim reading. Newport have secured 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 tasted victory at home for 273 days and have kept just two clean sheets in 26 matches this season. But a recent last-gasp equaliser with 10 men secured a precious point. {'We need to be a force at home,' Fuchs says. {'It’s just not acceptable, not even having a win. We need to build a fortress.'

Still a Player at Heart

By his own confession, Fuchs relishes a challenge. {'What’s so wrong with that?' He hung up his boots less than three years ago and, like Tuchel, likes being in the middle of the action. {'I’m a component of the group. I’m still a player inside,' he remarks, indicating his chest. {'At training I’m always getting involved in the boxes – two megs already, yes! I want us to view each other as one team. Yes, you’re the ones on the field, but we’re all in this together, we’re striving towards this together.'