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'The prospect of a late surge is arguably more remote than that legendary 5,000-1 title, which logically puts the odds in our favor.' Christian Fuchs is discussing his new life as manager 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 of success, though that unbelievable title win in 2016 gave him much more than a Premier League trophy. {'It assisted in altering my outlook a little bit ... it showed that the impossible can be achievable,' he remarks.

The Surprising Path to Rodney Parade

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 comments, erupting in a laugh. This serves as the 39-year-old's opening gambit and a clear demonstration of his charismatic character across a colourful conversation. The discussion flows in different directions, from playing for the current England boss and the former Leicester manager to the immediate requirement to find a nearby hairdresser.

He opens some correspondence on his desk. Among it is a letter from a Leicester supporter offering encouragement, paired with a couple of glossy photos from that season. {'Young Fuchs,' he remarks, grinning. Another delivery brings a collection of old collector's items, one from an album marking Euro 2016, when he skippered Austria. A greeting from the Newport Supporters’ Club is displayed prominently. 'Stuff like this really makes me very content,' he concludes.

A Past Trip and a Typographical Error

Until his move back from North Carolina to take on 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. On that occasion the Newport kit man faced off against Fuchs. {'He had the performance of his life,' Fuchs admits. But when the official sheets dropped, an amusing error was discovered. {'You need to edit 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 nice.'

Experiences from The Tinkerman, Rodgers and Tuchel

His choice to join the Foxes in the summer of 2015 proved brilliant. A couple of weeks later Leicester hired Claudio Ranieri and what followed is legendary. The Italian joined 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 picture an older man, so a veteran of the sport, maybe a bit old school, but he’s so not,' Fuchs says. {'He just said he was going to monitor training in Austria for the first week. He stayed out of it 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 modify anything.''

Fuchs cherishes lessons learned 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 challenge them mentally?’’ Fuchs says of Tuchel. {'That’s a big 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 anxious to prove himself.'

Roots and a Determined Character

Fuchs’s drive originates in his childhood 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 get the better of them or there are people who say: ‘Watch me, I’m going to show you.’ I’ve been told too many times: ‘You can't do this, you can't do that.’ I’m going to demonstrate that I can and work my socks off. The other thing about my character is: I’m quite determined. If I see potential, I’m making it happen.'

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 fires up his laptop to show data from a recent 2-2 draw, displaying a slide he presented to his players. {'The team hit numerous season highs,' he says, noting ball progression and statistics about getting behind defensive lines. Passing accuracy was logged at 87%. {'Not pleased with that … that needs to be in the 90-95% range,' he insists. {'My first game, it was very long-ball, 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 broader numbers present sobering 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 earned a crucial point. {'We need to be a dominant side at home,' Fuchs says. {'It’s just not acceptable, not even having a win. We need to construct a fortress.'

Still a Player at Heart

By his own acknowledgement, Fuchs enjoys a challenge. {'What’s so wrong with that?' He ended his playing career less than three years ago and, like Tuchel, likes 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 participating in the drills – two megs already, get in! 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 tackling this as one.'