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'I estimate that the odds of us turning the season around are less than Leicester lifting the Premier League, so they are in our favour, right?' Christian Fuchs is talking about his recent venture as manager of Newport County, and the daunting task of preventing a fall into non-league football. Here lies a challenge at the complete other end of the spectrum of success, though that miraculous title win in 2016 gave him much more than a winner's medal. {'It assisted in altering my outlook a little bit ... it proved that the unthinkable can be possible,' he states.

The Unlikely Path to Rodney Parade

The obvious place to start is: what brought Fuchs wind up here? 'I guess that's the part that's not logical, right?' he says, erupting in laughter. This remark acts as the 39-year-old's initial statement and a clear demonstration of his playful character across a fascinating conversation. The discussion flows in multiple pathways, from being managed by Thomas Tuchel and Brendan Rodgers to the pressing need to find a local barber.

He sorts through some post on his desk. Among it is a message from a Leicester supporter offering encouragement, paired with a couple of professional photographs from that campaign. {'Young Fuchs,' he remarks, grinning. Another delivery brings a stash of old Panini stickers, one from an album celebrating Euro 2016, when he captained Austria. A greeting from the Newport Supporters’ Club is displayed prominently. Items like this really makes me very happy,' he states.

A Prior Encounter and a Typographical Error

Until returning from North Carolina to assume his first job in senior management last month, Fuchs’s most recent encounter to Rodney Parade was in January 2019, when Leicester were on the end of a Newport shock defeat in the FA Cup third round. On that occasion David Pipe duelled against Fuchs. {'He had the game of his life,' Fuchs recalls. But when the official sheets dropped, an curious error came to light. {'You need to censor this,' Fuchs jokes. 'They misspelled 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 nice.'

Lessons from Claudio, Rodgers and Tuchel

His move to join the Foxes in the summer of 2015 proved a masterstroke. A couple of weeks later Leicester brought in Claudio Ranieri and the rest is history. The Italian arrived at the club in the middle of a pre-season camp in Austria and his light-touch approach worked wonders. {'When you see Claudio you imagine an seasoned professional, so long in the business, maybe a bit set in his ways, but he’s the complete opposite,' Fuchs says. {'He just said he was going to observe 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 change anything.''

Fuchs cherishes lessons learned 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 push them mentally?’’ Fuchs says of Tuchel. {'That’s a major part of our philosophy as well. How can you make good decision-makers? Back then he was probably in a similar situation to where I am now … very motivated, very eager to prove himself.'

Roots and a Resolute Mindset

Fuchs’s determination 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 get the better of them or there are people who say: ‘Watch me, 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 personality is: I’m quite stubborn. If I see potential, I’m making it happen.'

Detailed Approach and the Struggle 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 analytics from a recent 2-2 draw, presenting a slide he used with his players. {'The team hit several season peaks,' he explains, highlighting 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 states. {'My first game, it was very long-ball, 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 launching it all the time.'

The broader numbers make grim reading. Newport have managed 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 injury-time equaliser with 10 men earned a valuable point. {'We need to be a power at home,' Fuchs emphasizes. {'It’s just not satisfactory, not even having a win. We need to create a stronghold.'

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 thick of things. {'I’m a part of the group. I’m still a player inside,' he states, pointing to his chest. {'At training I’m always getting involved in the small-sided games – two pannas already, brilliant! I want us to regard 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 as one.'