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'The prospect of a late surge is arguably a longer shot than that fabled 5,000-1 title, which somehow puts the odds in our corner.' Christian Fuchs is reflecting on his fresh chapter as boss of Newport County, and the immense task of averting a descent into non-league football. Here lies a challenge at the polar opposite of the spectrum, though that miraculous title win in 2016 gave him much more than a champion's gong. {'It assisted in altering my perspective a little bit ... it demonstrated that the unthinkable can be possible,' he states.

'How Did Fuchs Wind Up Here?'

The logical place to start is: how did Fuchs wind up here? 'That's the part of the story that isn't straightforward, wouldn't you say?' he states, erupting in laughter. This serves as the 39-year-old's introductory line and a clear indication of his engaging character across a wide-ranging conversation. Discourse travels in different directions, from being managed by Thomas Tuchel and the former Leicester manager to the urgent quest to find a local barber.

He opens some post on his desk. Included is a note from a Leicester supporter wishing him well, along with a couple of glossy photos from that memorable year. {'Young Fuchs,' he muses, smiling. Another delivery brings a stash of old stickers, one from an album marking Euro 2016, when he captained Austria. A note from the Newport Supporters’ Club is given special attention. Items like this makes me very content,' he concludes.

A Past Trip and a Funny Mistake

Until returning from North Carolina to take on 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 recalls. But when the official sheets were released, an amusing error came to light. {'You need to redact this,' Fuchs says with a smile. 'They misspelled my name – somehow a 'k' crept in in place of the 'h'. It is amusing because Fuchs, in German, means fox, so it’s something fitting.'

Lessons from Claudio, Rodgers and Tuchel

His move to join the Foxes in the summer of 2015 was a masterstroke. A couple of weeks later Leicester brought in Claudio Ranieri and an iconic story unfolded. The Italian came to the club in the middle of a pre-season camp in Austria and his hands-off approach did the trick. {'When you see Claudio you picture an elder gentleman, so a veteran of the sport, maybe a bit traditional, but he’s the complete opposite,' Fuchs states. {'He just said he was going to monitor 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 observed you for a week and I’m not going to modify anything.''

Fuchs cherishes insights gained 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 test 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 analogous place to where I am now … very focused, very keen to prove himself.'

Background and a Stubborn Mindset

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 skilled enough,' he reveals. {'There are people who let that overcome them or there are people who say: ‘Fuchs 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 demonstrate that I can and work my socks off. The other thing about my character is: I’m pretty headstrong. If I see potential, I’m going for it.'

Detailed Approach and the Fight for Survival

Fuchs’s assistant, Mark Smith, was born in Newport and previously led Fuchs’s Fox Soccer Academy. Fuchs opens his laptop to show analytics from a recent 2-2 draw, presenting a slide he presented to his players. {'The team hit many, many season highs,' he says, highlighting ball progression and statistics about penetrating defensive lines. Passing accuracy was shown as 87%. {'Not pleased with that … that needs to be in the 90-95% range,' he declares. {'My first game, it was very direct, fourth-tier football, but we want to be distinct. I think a five-yard pass has a higher probability to arrive than just going long all the time.'

The overarching numbers present grim reading. Newport have managed three of 19 league matches and are yet to win 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 injury-time equaliser with 10 men earned a crucial point. {'We need to be a power at home,' Fuchs stresses. {'It’s just not acceptable, not even having a win. We need to build a fortress.'

One of the Lads at Heart

By his own confession, Fuchs relishes a challenge. {'What’s so wrong with that?' He hung up his boots less than three years ago and, like Tuchel, loves being in the heart of the battle. {'I’m a component of the group. I’m still a player at heart,' he remarks, tapping his chest. {'At training I’m always getting involved in the drills – two nutmegs already, yes! I want us to view each other as one team. Yes, you’re the ones on the field, but we’re all in this together, we’re working on this as one.'