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'The prospect of a dramatic turnaround is arguably a longer shot than that legendary 5,000-1 title, which somehow puts the odds in our favor.' Christian Fuchs is talking about his fresh chapter as head coach of the Football League's bottom club, and the daunting task of averting a drop into non-league football. It is a challenge at the polar opposite of the spectrum of success, though that unbelievable title win in 2016 provided him with a great deal more than a champion's gong. {'It helped change my outlook a little bit ... it proved that the unthinkable can be achievable,' he notes.

The Unlikely Path to Rodney Parade

The natural place to start is: how did Fuchs end up here? 'I guess that's the part that's not logical, right?' he comments, letting out a laugh. This remark acts as the 39-year-old's opening gambit and a clear indication of his charismatic character across a wide-ranging conversation. Discourse travels in various tangents, from playing for the current England boss and Brendan Rodgers to the urgent quest to find a local barber.

He opens some post on his desk. Included is a letter from a Leicester supporter wishing him well, paired with a couple of glossy photos from that campaign. {'Young Fuchs,' he muses, with a smile. Another envelope brings a hoard of old Panini stickers, one from an album marking Euro 2016, when he led Austria. A card from the Newport Supporters’ Club is given special attention. 'Stuff like this genuinely makes me very happy,' he adds.

A Previous Visit and a Funny Mistake

Until coming 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 suffered a Newport giantkilling in the FA Cup third round. That day a former full-back duelled against Fuchs. {'He had the performance of his life,' Fuchs recalls. But when the lineup cards dropped, an amusing error came to light. {'You need to censor this,' Fuchs remarks. 'They misspelled my name – somehow a 'k' crept in in place of the 'h'. It is amusing because Fuchs, in German, means fox, so it’s something pleasant.'

Insights from Claudio, Rodgers and Tuchel

His choice to join the Foxes in the summer of 2015 proved inspired. A couple of weeks later Leicester appointed Claudio Ranieri and an iconic story unfolded. The Italian joined the club in the midst of a pre-season camp in Austria and his hands-off approach did the trick. {'When you observe Claudio you envision an elder gentleman, so experienced in the game, maybe a bit traditional, but he’s anything but,' Fuchs explains. {'He just said he was going to monitor training in Austria for the first week. He stayed out of it 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 alter anything.''

Fuchs cherishes experiences from Rodgers and Tuchel, under whom he worked while on loan at Mainz. {'He always pondered: ‘How can I get extra out of the players? How can I challenge them mentally?’’ Fuchs says of Tuchel. {'That’s a big part of our methodology as well. How can you make good players who choose wisely? Back then he was probably in a comparable position to where I am now … very driven, very keen to prove himself.'

Origins and a Determined Nature

Fuchs’s drive stems from his upbringing 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 good enough,' he reveals. {'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 cannot do this, you cannot do that.’ I’m going to show that I can and give absolutely everything. The other thing about my character is: I’m quite headstrong. If I see possibility, I’m doing it.'

Analytical Approach and the Fight for Survival

Fuchs’s assistant, Mark Smith, was born in Newport and previously led Fuchs’s Fox Soccer Academy. Fuchs fires up his laptop to show statistics from a recent 2-2 draw, displaying a slide he showed his players. {'The team hit numerous season peaks,' he says, emphasizing ball progression and statistics about penetrating defensive lines. Passing accuracy was shown as 87%. {'Not satisfied with that … that needs to be in the 90-95% range,' he declares. {'My first game, it was very physical, lower-league football, but we want to be different. I think a five-yard pass has a higher percentage to arrive than just hoofing it all the time.'

The general numbers make 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 satisfactory, not even having a win. We need to build a impenetrable home.'

In the Thick of It at Heart

By his own confession, Fuchs enjoys a challenge. {'What’s so wrong with that?' He ended his playing career less than three years ago and, like Tuchel, enjoys being in the middle of the action. {'I’m a component of the group. I’m still a player in here,' he states, pointing to his chest. {'At training I’m always participating in the drills – two nutmegs already, brilliant! I want us to regard each other as one team. Yes, you’re the ones on the field, but we’re one team, we’re striving towards this collectively.'