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'I reckon that the likelihood of us reviving our campaign are lower than Leicester lifting the Premier League, so they are in our benefit, right?' Christian Fuchs is discussing his new life as head coach of the League Two strugglers, and the monumental task of preventing a fall into non-league football. It is a challenge at the polar opposite of the spectrum, though that miraculous title win in 2016 provided him with far more than a Premier League trophy. {'It contributed to shifting my outlook a little bit ... it proved that the unthinkable can be achievable,' he notes.

'How Did Fuchs Wind Up Here?'

The obvious place to start is: what brought Fuchs find himself here? 'I guess that's the part that's illogical, right?' he comments, letting out laughter. This serves as the 39-year-old's initial statement and a clear indication of his engaging character across a wide-ranging conversation. Discourse flows in various tangents, from being managed by the current England boss and Brendan Rodgers to the urgent quest to find a nearby hairdresser.

He sorts through some post on his desk. Among it is a message from a Leicester supporter wishing him well, paired with a couple of shiny pictures from that season. {'Young Fuchs,' he remarks, smiling. Another delivery brings a stash of old collector's items, one from an album marking Euro 2016, when he led Austria. A card from the Newport Supporters’ Club is given special attention. Things like this genuinely makes me very happy,' he concludes.

A Prior Encounter and a Funny Mistake

Prior to his move back from North Carolina to take on 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 cupset in the FA Cup third round. That day the Newport kit man competed with Fuchs. {'He had the performance of his career,' Fuchs admits. But when the lineup cards dropped, an interesting error was discovered. {'You need to edit this,' Fuchs jokes. 'They misspelled my name – somehow a 'k' smuggled itself in in place of the 'h'. It is hilarious because Fuchs, in German, means fox, so it’s something pleasant.'

Insights 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 appointed Claudio Ranieri and what followed is legendary. The Italian joined the club in the midst of a pre-season camp in Austria and his observational approach worked wonders. {'When you observe Claudio you envision an older man, so a veteran of the sport, maybe a bit old school, but he’s so not,' Fuchs explains. {'He just said he was going to watch 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 observed you for a week and I’m not going to alter anything.''

Fuchs cherishes experiences from Rodgers and Tuchel, under whom he worked while on loan at Mainz. {'He always considered: ‘How can I get additional out of the players? How can I push them psychologically?’’ Fuchs says of Tuchel. {'That’s a major part of our approach as well. How can you make good decision-makers? Back then he was probably in a comparable position to where I am now … very driven, very eager to prove himself.'

Background and a Resolute Nature

Fuchs’s drive comes from 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 can not do this, you can not do that.’ I’m going to demonstrate that I can and put in the hard yards. The other thing about my personality is: I’m quite determined. If I see potential, I’m making it happen.'

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 boots up his laptop to show analytics from a recent 2-2 draw, displaying a slide he presented to his players. {'The team hit several season peaks,' he points out, 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 mid-90s,' he declares. {'My first game, it was very physical, lower-league football, but we want to be unique. I think a five-yard pass has a higher probability to find its target than just launching it all the time.'

The broader numbers paint sobering reading. Newport have secured three of 19 league matches and are without a victory 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 93rd-minute equaliser with 10 men garnered a precious point. {'We need to be a power at home,' Fuchs says. {'It’s just not acceptable, not even having a win. We need to construct a impenetrable home.'

Still a Player at Heart

By his own admission, Fuchs likes a challenge. {'What’s so bad 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 at heart,' he says, indicating his chest. {'At training I’m always participating in the boxes – two pannas already, brilliant! I want us to see each other as one team. Yes, you’re the ones on the field, but we’re all in this together, we’re striving towards this collectively.'