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'The prospect of a late surge is arguably a longer shot than that fabled 5,000-1 title, which logically puts the odds in our corner.' Christian Fuchs is discussing his new life as head coach of Newport County, and the monumental task of averting a fall into non-league football. This represents a challenge at the complete other end of the spectrum, though that unbelievable title win in 2016 gave him a great deal more than a champion's gong. {'It helped change my perspective a little bit ... it demonstrated that the unattainable can be possible,' he notes.

The Unlikely Path to Rodney Parade

The logical place to start is: what brought Fuchs end up here? 'That's the aspect of the story that defies logic, wouldn't you say?' he comments, erupting in a chuckle. This remark acts as the 39-year-old's introductory line and a clear sign of his charismatic character across a fascinating conversation. Our talk travels in various tangents, from working under the current England boss and Brendan Rodgers to the pressing need to find a barber in the area.

He sorts through some post on his desk. There is a message from a Leicester supporter wishing him well, accompanied by a couple of professional photographs from that memorable year. {'Young Fuchs,' he says, grinning. Another package brings a collection of old collector's items, one from an album commemorating Euro 2016, when he captained Austria. A note from the Newport Supporters’ Club is given special attention. Things like this genuinely makes me very pleased,' he adds.

A Previous Visit and a Misspelt Name

Until his move back from North Carolina to accept his first job in senior management 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. During that match the Newport kit man competed with Fuchs. {'He had the game of his life,' Fuchs recalls. But when the official sheets dropped, an interesting error emerged. {'You need to edit this,' Fuchs jokes. '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 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 hired 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 light-touch approach did the trick. {'When you observe Claudio you envision an elder gentleman, so a veteran of the sport, maybe a bit old school, but he’s the complete opposite,' Fuchs states. {'He just said he was going to monitor 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 watched 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 thought: ‘How can I get more out of the players? How can I push them psychologically?’’ Fuchs says of Tuchel. {'That’s a major part of our philosophy 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 driven, very keen to prove himself.'

Roots and a Stubborn Character

Fuchs’s motivation originates in his childhood 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 skilled enough,' he shares. {'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 demonstrate that I can and work my socks off. The other thing about my make-up is: I’m very stubborn. If I see promise, I’m doing it.'

Detailed 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 opens his laptop to show data from a recent 2-2 draw, presenting a slide he showed his players. {'The team hit several season bests,' he explains, emphasizing ball progression and statistics about getting behind defensive lines. Passing accuracy was shown as 87%. {'Not satisfied with that … that needs to be in the mid-90s,' he insists. {'My first game, it was very long-ball, lower-league football, but we want to be different. I think a five-yard pass has a higher chance to be successful than just launching it all the time.'

The overarching numbers paint grim reading. Newport have secured 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 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 valuable 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 stronghold.'

One of the Lads at Heart

By his own acknowledgement, Fuchs likes a challenge. {'What’s so wrong with that?' He retired less than three years ago and, like Tuchel, loves being in the heart of the battle. {'I’m a member of the group. I’m still a player inside,' he states, tapping his chest. {'At training I’m always participating in the drills – two nutmegs already, brilliant! I want us to regard each other as a unified group. Yes, you’re the ones on the field, but we’re one team, we’re striving towards this together.'