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'The prospect of a late surge is arguably more remote than that legendary 5,000-1 title, which somehow puts the odds in our favor.' Christian Fuchs is talking about his new life as boss of the Football League's bottom club, and the daunting task of staving off a drop into non-league football. It is a challenge at the complete other end of the spectrum, though that fairytale title win in 2016 gave him a great deal more than a Premier League trophy. {'It contributed to shifting my perspective a little bit ... it showed that the unthinkable can be possible,' he notes.

The Illogical Path to Rodney Parade

The obvious place to start is: what brought Fuchs find himself here? 'I imagine that's the part that's illogical, right?' he comments, letting out a chuckle. This serves as the 39-year-old's introductory line and a clear indication of his playful character across a colourful conversation. The discussion flows in different directions, from being managed by Thomas Tuchel and Brendan Rodgers to the pressing need to find a nearby hairdresser.

He opens some correspondence on his desk. There is a message from a Leicester supporter offering encouragement, paired with a couple of professional photographs from that memorable year. {'Young Fuchs,' he muses, smiling. Another delivery brings a hoard of old Panini stickers, one from an album marking Euro 2016, when he skippered Austria. A greeting from the Newport Supporters’ Club is given special attention. 'Stuff like this really makes me very content,' he adds.

A Prior Encounter and a Typographical Error

Until coming back from North Carolina to assume his first job in senior management last month, Fuchs’s last trip to Rodney Parade was in January 2019, when Leicester endured a Newport shock defeat in the FA Cup third round. On that occasion a former full-back faced off against Fuchs. {'He had the game of his career,' Fuchs recalls. But when the teamsheets were released, an interesting error came to light. {'You need to censor this,' Fuchs jokes. 'They misspelled my name – somehow a 'k' found its way 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 brilliant. A couple of weeks later Leicester brought in Claudio Ranieri and an iconic story unfolded. The Italian joined the club in the heart of a pre-season camp in Austria and his hands-off approach produced miracles. {'When you see Claudio you picture an older man, so long in the business, maybe a bit old school, but he’s so not,' Fuchs explains. {'He just said he was going to watch 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 studied you for a week and I’m not going to modify 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 extra out of the players? How can I challenge them psychologically?’’ 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 comparable position to where I am now … very driven, very eager to prove himself.'

Origins and a Stubborn Mindset

Fuchs’s motivation originates in his childhood 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 good enough,' he shares. {'There are people who let that get the better of 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 give absolutely everything. The other thing about my character is: I’m pretty headstrong. If I see promise, I’m doing it.'

Analytical Approach and the Struggle for Survival

Fuchs’s assistant, Mark Smith, was born in Newport and had been in charge of Fuchs’s Fox Soccer Academy. Fuchs boots up his laptop to show statistics from a recent 2-2 draw, displaying a slide he used with his players. {'The team hit numerous season bests,' he says, noting ball progression and statistics about getting behind defensive lines. Passing accuracy was recorded at 87%. {'Not pleased with that … that needs to be in the mid-90s,' he states. {'My first game, it was very long-ball, lower-league football, but we want to be unique. I think a five-yard pass has a higher chance to arrive than just going long all the time.'

The overarching numbers present bleak 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 last-gasp equaliser with 10 men secured a valuable point. {'We need to be a power at home,' Fuchs emphasizes. {'It’s just not acceptable, not even having a win. We need to build a stronghold.'

Still a Player at Heart

By his own confession, Fuchs enjoys a challenge. {'What’s so negative with that?' He retired 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 at heart,' he states, pointing to his chest. {'At training I’m always getting involved in the small-sided games – two pannas already, yes! I want us to view each other as a single unit. Yes, you’re the ones on the field, but we’re a collective, we’re striving towards this collectively.'