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'I estimate that the likelihood of us turning the season around are lower than Leicester winning the Premier League, so they are in our favour, right?' Christian Fuchs is reflecting on his recent venture as head coach of Newport County, and the daunting task of staving off a fall into non-league football. Here lies a challenge at the polar opposite of the spectrum of success, though that miraculous title win in 2016 provided him with far more than a champion's gong. {'It contributed to shifting my mindset a little bit ... it demonstrated that the impossible can be achievable,' he states.

'How Did Fuchs Find Himself Here?'

The logical place to start is: what brought Fuchs wind up here? 'That's the element of the story that defies logic, wouldn't you say?' he comments, letting out laughter. This remark acts as the 39-year-old's initial statement and a clear indication of his playful character across a colourful conversation. Our talk flows in various tangents, from working under Thomas Tuchel and Brendan Rodgers to the immediate requirement to find a local barber.

He looks at some post on his desk. There is a message from a Leicester supporter offering encouragement, paired with a couple of professional photographs from that campaign. {'Young Fuchs,' he says, with a smile. Another delivery brings a hoard of old collector's items, one from an album commemorating Euro 2016, when he skippered Austria. A card from the Newport Supporters’ Club has pride of place. Items like this makes me very happy,' he concludes.

A Prior Encounter and a Typographical Error

Until his move back from North Carolina to take on his first job in frontline management last month, Fuchs’s most recent encounter to Rodney Parade was in January 2019, when Leicester suffered a Newport giantkilling in the FA Cup third round. That day David Pipe faced off against Fuchs. {'He had the performance of his career,' Fuchs says. But when the lineup cards came out, an amusing error was discovered. {'You need to redact this,' Fuchs remarks. 'They misspelt my name – somehow a 'k' found its way in in place of the 'h'. It is funny because Fuchs, in German, means fox, so it’s something nice.'

Insights from The Tinkerman, Rodgers and Tuchel

His choice to join the Foxes in the summer of 2015 turned out to be inspired. A couple of weeks later Leicester appointed Claudio Ranieri and an iconic story unfolded. The Italian joined the club in the middle of a pre-season camp in Austria and his light-touch approach produced miracles. {'When you see Claudio you envision an older man, so long in the business, 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 values insights gained from Rodgers and Tuchel, under whom he worked while on loan at Mainz. {'He always pondered: ‘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 approach as well. How can you make good players who choose wisely? 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 Nature

Fuchs’s motivation comes from his upbringing in Neunkirchen. {'There are similarities to where we are now, because I was told when I was 11 years old that I would never be good enough,' he reveals. {'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 not do this, you can't do that.’ I’m going to demonstrate that I can and put in the hard yards. The other thing about my character is: I’m pretty determined. If I see potential, I’m going for it.'

Analytical Approach and the Fight 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 analytics from a recent 2-2 draw, displaying a slide he used with his players. {'The team hit many, many season highs,' he points out, emphasizing ball progression and statistics about getting behind defensive lines. Passing accuracy was logged at 87%. {'Not satisfied 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 chance to arrive than just launching it all the time.'

The general numbers paint grim reading. Newport have won 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 dominant side at home,' Fuchs emphasizes. {'It’s just not satisfactory, not even having a win. We need to build a stronghold.'

Still a Player at Heart

By his own admission, Fuchs relishes a challenge. {'What’s so wrong with that?' He ended his playing career less than three years ago and, like Tuchel, loves being in the thick of things. {'I’m a component of the group. I’m still a player at heart,' he remarks, tapping his chest. {'At training I’m always joining in in the boxes – two megs already, brilliant! I want us to view each other as a unified group. Yes, you’re the ones on the field, but we’re all in this together, we’re working on this as one.'