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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 reflecting on his new life as head coach of the Football League's bottom club, and the monumental task of staving off a fall into non-league football. It is a challenge at the polar opposite of the spectrum, though that unbelievable title win in 2016 gave him far more than a Premier League trophy. {'It helped change my perspective a little bit ... it proved that the unattainable can be possible,' he notes.

'How Did Fuchs Find Himself Here?'

The natural place to start is: what brought Fuchs find himself here? 'I imagine that's the part that's unpredictable, right?' he comments, breaking into a chuckle. It is the 39-year-old's opening gambit and a clear indication of his engaging character across a fascinating conversation. Discourse flows in different directions, from working under the current England boss and Brendan Rodgers to the urgent quest to find a barber in the area.

He looks at some post on his desk. There is a message from a Leicester supporter sending best wishes, along with a couple of glossy photos from that campaign. {'Young Fuchs,' he says, smiling. Another package brings a collection of old stickers, one from an album marking Euro 2016, when he led Austria. A card from the Newport Supporters’ Club has pride of place. Things like this makes me very pleased,' he states.

A Previous Visit and a Funny Mistake

Prior to his move back from North Carolina to assume his first job in frontline management last month, Fuchs’s previous visit to Rodney Parade was in January 2019, when Leicester suffered a Newport shock defeat in the FA Cup third round. On that occasion a former full-back competed with Fuchs. {'He had the performance of his career,' Fuchs admits. But when the official sheets dropped, an curious error came to light. {'You need to censor this,' Fuchs remarks. 'They got wrong 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 The Tinkerman, 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 hired Claudio Ranieri and the rest is history. The Italian came to the club in the heart of a pre-season camp in Austria and his light-touch approach worked wonders. {'When you observe Claudio you envision an seasoned professional, so long in the business, maybe a bit traditional, but he’s the complete opposite,' Fuchs states. {'He just said he was going to observe training in Austria for the first week. He remained on the sidelines 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 holds dear experiences 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 push them mentally?’’ Fuchs says of Tuchel. {'That’s a major part of our methodology as well. How can you make good decision-makers? Back then he was probably in a comparable position to where I am now … very motivated, very anxious to prove himself.'

Background and a Stubborn Character

Fuchs’s drive stems from his childhood 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 shares. {'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 cannot do this, you can not do that.’ I’m going to show that I can and give absolutely everything. The other thing about my make-up is: I’m quite stubborn. If I see possibility, I’m doing it.'

Data-Driven 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, sharing a slide he presented to his players. {'The team hit many, many season peaks,' he points out, highlighting ball progression and statistics about penetrating defensive lines. Passing accuracy was logged at 87%. {'Not happy with that … that needs to be in the 90-95% range,' he states. {'My first game, it was very direct, fourth-tier football, but we want to be different. I think a five-yard pass has a higher percentage to arrive than just launching 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 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 garnered a crucial point. {'We need to be a force at home,' Fuchs emphasizes. {'It’s just not good enough, not even having a win. We need to create a fortress.'

Still a Player at Heart

By his own acknowledgement, Fuchs relishes a challenge. {'What’s so bad with that?' He ended his playing career less than three years ago and, like Tuchel, loves being in the heart of the battle. {'I’m a part of the group. I’m still a player at heart,' he remarks, indicating his chest. {'At training I’m always joining in in the drills – two pannas already, yes! I want us to regard each other as a single unit. Yes, you’re the ones on the field, but we’re all in this together, we’re working on this together.'