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'The probability of a late surge is arguably more remote than that fabled 5,000-1 title, which logically puts the odds in our favor.' Christian Fuchs is talking about his fresh chapter as boss of the Football League's bottom club, and the immense task of preventing a drop into non-league football. This represents a challenge at the complete other end of the spectrum, though that fairytale title win in 2016 provided him with far more than a champion's gong. {'It assisted in altering my outlook a little bit ... it demonstrated that the unthinkable can be achievable,' he notes.

'How Did Fuchs Wind Up Here?'

The natural place to start is: what brought Fuchs wind up here? 'That's the aspect of the story that defies logic, wouldn't you say?' he says, letting out a laugh. It is the 39-year-old's introductory line and a clear demonstration of his charismatic character across a colourful conversation. The discussion travels in various tangents, from being managed by the current England boss and Brendan Rodgers to the urgent quest to find a local barber.

He looks at some correspondence on his desk. There is a note from a Leicester supporter wishing him well, accompanied by a couple of shiny pictures from that season. {'Young Fuchs,' he remarks, smiling. Another envelope brings a collection of old Panini stickers, one from an album marking Euro 2016, when he captained Austria. A note from the Newport Supporters’ Club is given special attention. Things like this genuinely makes me very content,' he adds.

A Prior Encounter and a Misspelt Name

Until his move back from North Carolina to accept his first job in first-team coaching last month, Fuchs’s previous visit to Rodney Parade was in January 2019, when Leicester suffered a Newport giantkilling in the FA Cup third round. On that occasion the Newport kit man duelled against Fuchs. {'He had the match of his life,' Fuchs admits. But when the teamsheets dropped, an interesting error came to light. {'You need to edit this,' Fuchs jokes. 'They misspelled my name – somehow a 'k' crept in in place of the 'h'. It is hilarious because Fuchs, in German, means fox, so it’s something fitting.'

Lessons from Claudio, Rodgers and Tuchel

His choice to join the Foxes in the summer of 2015 was a masterstroke. A couple of weeks later Leicester brought in Claudio Ranieri and what followed is legendary. The Italian arrived at the club in the heart of a pre-season camp in Austria and his light-touch approach produced miracles. {'When you see Claudio you envision an older man, so a veteran of the sport, maybe a bit traditional, but he’s the complete opposite,' Fuchs explains. {'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 studied you for a week and I’m not going to change anything.''

Fuchs holds dear lessons learned 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 psychologically?’’ Fuchs says of Tuchel. {'That’s a significant 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 focused, very keen to prove himself.'

Background and a Stubborn Character

Fuchs’s motivation stems from his upbringing in Neunkirchen. {'There are parallels 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 cannot do that.’ I’m going to demonstrate that I can and put in the hard yards. The other thing about my make-up is: I’m quite stubborn. If I see promise, I’m going for it.'

Detailed Approach and the Struggle 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 data from a recent 2-2 draw, sharing a slide he showed his players. {'The team hit many, many season peaks,' he says, highlighting ball progression and statistics about getting behind defensive lines. Passing accuracy was shown as 87%. {'Not pleased with that … that needs to be in the 90-95% range,' he insists. {'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 percentage to be successful than just going long all the time.'

The overarching numbers present grim reading. Newport have won three of 19 league matches and are winless in eight in all competitions. By the time of their next home game, they will have not won a game 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 precious 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 construct a stronghold.'

In the Thick of It at Heart

By his own admission, Fuchs enjoys a challenge. {'What’s so negative with that?' He ended his playing career less than three years ago and, like Tuchel, enjoys being in the thick of things. {'I’m a member of the group. I’m still a player in here,' he says, pointing to his chest. {'At training I’m always getting involved in the boxes – two megs already, yes! 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 tackling this together.'