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'I reckon that the likelihood of us reviving our campaign are slimmer than Leicester claiming the Premier League, so they are in our favour, right?' Christian Fuchs is talking about his new life as manager of Newport County, and the immense task of averting a drop into non-league football. It is a challenge at the complete other end of the scale, though that miraculous title win in 2016 gave him a great deal more than a champion's gong. {'It assisted in altering my mindset a little bit ... it demonstrated that the unthinkable can be achievable,' he states.

'How Did Fuchs End Up Here?'

The obvious place to start is: what was the journey that led Fuchs find himself here? 'I imagine that's the part that's not logical, right?' he says, letting out a chuckle. This serves as the 39-year-old's opening gambit and a clear demonstration of his engaging character across a wide-ranging conversation. The discussion travels in multiple pathways, from playing for the current England boss and Brendan Rodgers to the immediate requirement to find a barber in the area.

He opens some post on his desk. Among it is a message from a Leicester supporter sending best wishes, accompanied by a couple of shiny pictures from that memorable year. {'Young Fuchs,' he says, with a smile. Another envelope brings a hoard of old stickers, one from an album celebrating Euro 2016, when he captained Austria. A note from the Newport Supporters’ Club has pride of place. Things like this makes me very happy,' he concludes.

A Past Trip and a Funny Mistake

Prior to coming back from North Carolina to assume his first job in senior management last month, Fuchs’s previous visit to Rodney Parade was in January 2019, when Leicester suffered a Newport cupset in the FA Cup third round. During that match David Pipe faced off against Fuchs. {'He had the game of his life,' Fuchs says. But when the official sheets dropped, an interesting error was discovered. {'You need to redact this,' Fuchs jokes. 'They got wrong my name – somehow a 'k' smuggled itself in in place of the 'h'. It is amusing because Fuchs, in German, means fox, so it’s something pleasant.'

Experiences from The Tinkerman, Rodgers and Tuchel

His choice to join the Foxes in the summer of 2015 was inspired. A couple of weeks later Leicester hired Claudio Ranieri and the rest is history. The Italian arrived at the club in the midst of a pre-season camp in Austria and his light-touch approach worked wonders. {'When you see Claudio you imagine an older man, so experienced in the game, maybe a bit old school, but he’s the complete opposite,' 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 studied you for a week and I’m not going to change anything.''

Fuchs holds dear insights gained from Rodgers and Tuchel, under whom he worked while on loan at Mainz. {'He always thought: ‘How can I get additional 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 decision-makers? Back then he was probably in a comparable position to where I am now … very motivated, very keen to prove himself.'

Background and a Resolute Nature

Fuchs’s determination stems from his childhood in Neunkirchen. {'There are similarities to where we are now, because I was told when I was 11 years old that I would never be capable enough,' he discloses. {'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't do this, you cannot 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 determined. If I see potential, I’m doing it.'

Data-Driven 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 analytics from a recent 2-2 draw, sharing a slide he showed his players. {'The team hit several season peaks,' he says, noting ball progression and statistics about getting behind defensive lines. Passing accuracy was shown as 87%. {'Not pleased with that … that needs to be in the 90-95% range,' he insists. {'My first game, it was very physical, fourth-tier football, but we want to be different. I think a five-yard pass has a higher percentage to arrive than just launching it all the time.'

The overarching numbers make sobering 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 garnered a crucial point. {'We need to be a power at home,' Fuchs emphasizes. {'It’s just not good enough, not even having a win. We need to create a stronghold.'

One of the Lads at Heart

By his own confession, Fuchs likes a challenge. {'What’s so wrong with that?' He retired less than three years ago and, like Tuchel, loves being in the thick of things. {'I’m a part of the group. I’m still a player in here,' he states, indicating his chest. {'At training I’m always joining in in the small-sided games – two pannas already, get in! I want us to see 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.'