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'I estimate that the chances of us reviving our campaign are slimmer than Leicester claiming the Premier League, so they are in our benefit, right?' Christian Fuchs is reflecting on his recent venture as boss of Newport County, and the monumental task of staving off a fall into non-league football. It is a challenge at the complete other end of the spectrum, though that unbelievable title win in 2016 furnished him a great deal more than a winner's medal. {'It contributed to shifting my perspective a little bit ... it proved that the impossible can be attainable,' he states.

'How Did Fuchs Find Himself Here?'

The logical place to start is: what brought Fuchs find himself here? 'I imagine that's the part that's unpredictable, right?' he says, letting out laughter. This remark acts as the 39-year-old's opening gambit and a clear indication of his engaging character across a colourful conversation. The discussion travels in different directions, from being managed by Thomas Tuchel and Brendan Rodgers to the urgent quest to find a local barber.

He sorts through some post on his desk. There is a note from a Leicester supporter wishing him well, paired with a couple of shiny pictures from that campaign. {'Young Fuchs,' he remarks, with a smile. Another package brings a stash of old Panini stickers, one from an album marking Euro 2016, when he skippered Austria. A note from the Newport Supporters’ Club is displayed prominently. Items like this makes me very content,' he concludes.

A Prior Encounter and a Typographical Error

Prior to coming back from North Carolina to assume his first job in first-team coaching last month, Fuchs’s last trip to Rodney Parade was in January 2019, when Leicester suffered a Newport cupset in the FA Cup third round. On that occasion a former full-back faced off against Fuchs. {'He had the performance of his career,' Fuchs admits. But when the lineup cards were released, an interesting error was discovered. {'You need to censor this,' Fuchs says with a smile. '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 pleasant.'

Insights from Claudio, Rodgers and Tuchel

His choice to join the Foxes in the summer of 2015 proved brilliant. A couple of weeks later Leicester hired Claudio Ranieri and what followed is legendary. The Italian came to the club in the midst of a pre-season camp in Austria and his light-touch approach did the trick. {'When you observe Claudio you imagine an seasoned professional, so long in the business, maybe a bit old school, but he’s so not,' Fuchs states. {'He just said he was going to monitor 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 holds dear lessons learned 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 mentally?’’ Fuchs says of Tuchel. {'That’s a major part of our methodology as well. How can you make good thinkers on the pitch? Back then he was probably in a analogous place to where I am now … very focused, very keen to prove himself.'

Origins and a Determined Character

Fuchs’s drive originates in his upbringing in Neunkirchen. {'There are parallels to where we are now, because I was told when I was 11 years old that I would never be skilled enough,' he discloses. {'There are people who let that overcome them or there are people who say: ‘Forget you, I’m going to show you.’ I’ve been told too many times: ‘You can't do this, you can not 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 pretty headstrong. If I see promise, 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 opens his laptop to show data from a recent 2-2 draw, presenting a slide he presented to his players. {'The team hit several season peaks,' he explains, highlighting ball progression and statistics about breaking defensive lines. Passing accuracy was shown as 87%. {'Not happy with that … that needs to be in the 90-95% range,' he insists. {'My first game, it was very direct, League Two football, but we want to be different. I think a five-yard pass has a higher probability to be successful than just launching it all the time.'

The general numbers paint 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 won a game 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 valuable point. {'We need to be a force at home,' Fuchs stresses. {'It’s just not good enough, not even having a win. We need to build a fortress.'

Still a Player at Heart

By his own acknowledgement, Fuchs enjoys a challenge. {'What’s so negative with that?' He retired 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 says, tapping his chest. {'At training I’m always joining in in the small-sided games – two nutmegs already, yes! I want us to regard 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 as one.'