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'The probability of a seasonal revival is arguably more remote than that legendary 5,000-1 title, which strangely puts the odds in our corner.' Christian Fuchs is reflecting on his recent venture as boss of the Football League's bottom club, and the monumental task of staving off a drop into non-league football. It is a challenge at the complete other end of the spectrum, though that miraculous title win in 2016 provided him with much more than a champion's gong. {'It contributed to shifting my mindset a little bit ... it demonstrated that the unattainable can be attainable,' he remarks.

'How Did Fuchs Wind Up Here?'

The natural place to start is: how did Fuchs end up here? 'That's the part of the story that seems counterintuitive, wouldn't you say?' he says, letting out a laugh. This serves as the 39-year-old's initial statement and a clear sign of his playful character across a fascinating conversation. The discussion runs in various tangents, from playing for the current England boss and the former Leicester manager to the pressing need to find a barber in the area.

He opens some post on his desk. Among it is a message from a Leicester supporter offering encouragement, along with a couple of shiny pictures from that season. {'Young Fuchs,' he muses, smiling. Another delivery brings a hoard of old stickers, one from an album commemorating Euro 2016, when he captained Austria. A card from the Newport Supporters’ Club is displayed prominently. 'Stuff like this makes me very happy,' he states.

A Previous Visit and a Misspelt Name

Prior to returning from North Carolina to accept his first job in first-team coaching last month, Fuchs’s last trip to Rodney Parade was in January 2019, when Leicester were on the end of a Newport giantkilling in the FA Cup third round. During that match the Newport kit man faced off against Fuchs. {'He had the performance of his career,' Fuchs admits. But when the lineup cards dropped, an amusing error came to light. {'You need to edit this,' Fuchs jokes. 'They misspelt 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.'

Experiences from Ranieri, Rodgers and Tuchel

His decision to join the Foxes in the summer of 2015 turned out to be brilliant. A couple of weeks later Leicester brought in Claudio Ranieri and an iconic story unfolded. The Italian arrived at the club in the middle of a pre-season camp in Austria and his light-touch approach did the trick. {'When you observe Claudio you picture an seasoned professional, so experienced in the game, maybe a bit old school, but he’s so not,' 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 watched you for a week and I’m not going to change anything.''

Fuchs values experiences 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 challenge them mentally?’’ Fuchs says of Tuchel. {'That’s a major part of our philosophy 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 anxious to prove himself.'

Background and a Determined Nature

Fuchs’s motivation comes from 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 capable enough,' he reveals. {'There are people who let that defeat 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 prove that I can and give absolutely everything. The other thing about my personality is: I’m very headstrong. If I see possibility, I’m doing it.'

Detailed Approach and the Battle 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 analytics from a recent 2-2 draw, displaying a slide he showed his players. {'The team hit numerous season bests,' he explains, emphasizing ball progression and statistics about penetrating defensive lines. Passing accuracy was shown as 87%. {'Not happy with that … that needs to be in the 90-95% range,' he states. {'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 chance to arrive than just hoofing it all the time.'

The general numbers make bleak 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 secured three points 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 earned a crucial point. {'We need to be a dominant side at home,' Fuchs says. {'It’s just not acceptable, not even having a win. We need to construct a impenetrable home.'

Still a Player at Heart

By his own confession, Fuchs likes a challenge. {'What’s so wrong with that?' He ended his playing career less than three years ago and, like Tuchel, likes being in the thick of things. {'I’m a member of the group. I’m still a player inside,' he remarks, 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 a single unit. Yes, you’re the ones on the field, but we’re a collective, we’re working on this together.'