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'The probability of a late surge is arguably a longer shot than that historic 5,000-1 title, which somehow puts the odds in our favour.' Christian Fuchs is talking about his recent venture as head coach of the Football League's bottom club, and the immense task of preventing a drop into non-league football. It is a challenge at the complete other end of the spectrum of success, though that unbelievable title win in 2016 furnished him much more than a champion's gong. {'It assisted in altering my perspective a little bit ... it demonstrated that the impossible can be achievable,' he remarks.

'How Did Fuchs End Up Here?'

The obvious place to start is: what brought Fuchs end up here? 'I imagine that's the part that's unpredictable, right?' he comments, erupting in laughter. This serves as the 39-year-old's initial statement and a clear sign of his engaging character across a wide-ranging conversation. Discourse runs in different directions, from being managed by the current England boss and the former Leicester manager to the urgent quest to find a local barber.

He opens some correspondence on his desk. Included is a letter from a Leicester supporter offering encouragement, along with a couple of glossy photos from that memorable year. {'Young Fuchs,' he says, with a smile. Another package brings a stash of old stickers, one from an album celebrating Euro 2016, when he captained Austria. A card from the Newport Supporters’ Club is displayed prominently. Things like this makes me very content,' he concludes.

A Past Trip and a Funny Mistake

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 shock defeat in the FA Cup third round. On that occasion a former full-back duelled against Fuchs. {'He had the performance of his career,' Fuchs recalls. But when the official sheets came out, an interesting error was discovered. {'You need to censor this,' Fuchs says with a smile. 'They got wrong 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.'

Experiences 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 the rest is history. 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 look at Claudio you envision an older man, so experienced in the game, maybe a bit traditional, but he’s the complete opposite,' Fuchs says. {'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 watched you for a week and I’m not going to change anything.''

Fuchs cherishes insights gained 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 mentally?’’ Fuchs says of Tuchel. {'That’s a big part of our methodology as well. How can you make good decision-makers? Back then he was probably in a analogous place to where I am now … very driven, very anxious to prove himself.'

Background and a Determined Nature

Fuchs’s drive stems from his upbringing in Neunkirchen. {'There are comparisons to where we are now, because I was told when I was 11 years old that I would never be skilled enough,' he reveals. {'There are people who let that defeat 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 show that I can and give absolutely everything. The other thing about my make-up is: I’m pretty stubborn. If I see promise, I’m making it happen.'

Analytical Approach and the Battle 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 statistics from a recent 2-2 draw, presenting a slide he showed his players. {'The team hit many, many season highs,' he explains, emphasizing ball progression and statistics about penetrating defensive lines. Passing accuracy was recorded at 87%. {'Not happy with that … that needs to be in the 90-95% range,' he insists. {'My first game, it was very long-ball, League Two football, but we want to be different. I think a five-yard pass has a higher percentage to find its target than just going long all the time.'

The overarching numbers present bleak reading. Newport have secured 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 tasted victory at home for 273 days and have kept just two clean sheets in 26 matches this season. But a recent last-gasp equaliser with 10 men earned a crucial point. {'We need to be a force 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 admission, Fuchs likes a challenge. {'What’s so negative with that?' He retired less than three years ago and, like Tuchel, loves being in the thick of things. {'I’m a member of the group. I’m still a player inside,' he remarks, tapping his chest. {'At training I’m always participating in the drills – 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 a collective, we’re striving towards this together.'