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'The prospect of a late surge is arguably less likely than that historic 5,000-1 title, which strangely puts the odds in our favor.' Christian Fuchs is reflecting on his fresh chapter as boss 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 scale, though that miraculous title win in 2016 provided him with a great deal more than a winner's medal. {'It helped change my mindset a little bit ... it showed that the unattainable can be possible,' he remarks.

The Unlikely Path to Rodney Parade

The natural place to start is: what was the journey that led Fuchs find himself here? 'I guess that's the part that's unpredictable, right?' he says, erupting in laughter. This serves as the 39-year-old's introductory line and a clear demonstration of his engaging character across a colourful conversation. Discourse travels in various tangents, from being managed by the current England boss and the former Leicester manager to the pressing need to find a nearby hairdresser.

He sorts through some mail on his desk. There is a note from a Leicester supporter offering encouragement, paired with a couple of professional photographs from that season. {'Young Fuchs,' he remarks, grinning. Another delivery brings a hoard of old stickers, one from an album celebrating Euro 2016, when he skippered Austria. A card from the Newport Supporters’ Club is given special attention. 'Stuff like this genuinely makes me very pleased,' he adds.

A Prior Encounter and a Typographical Error

Until his move back from North Carolina to take on his first job in frontline management last month, Fuchs’s most recent encounter to Rodney Parade was in January 2019, when Leicester were on the end of a Newport shock defeat in the FA Cup third round. On that occasion a former full-back competed with Fuchs. {'He had the game of his career,' Fuchs recalls. But when the teamsheets were released, an amusing error emerged. {'You need to censor this,' Fuchs jokes. 'They misspelt my name – somehow a 'k' found its way 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 turned out to be brilliant. A couple of weeks later Leicester appointed Claudio Ranieri and the rest is history. The Italian joined the club in the heart of a pre-season camp in Austria and his hands-off approach produced miracles. {'When you see Claudio you envision an elder gentleman, so experienced in the game, maybe a bit traditional, but he’s the complete opposite,' Fuchs states. {'He just said he was going to watch 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 observed you for a week and I’m not going to change anything.''

Fuchs values experiences from Rodgers and Tuchel, under whom he worked while on loan at Mainz. {'He always pondered: ‘How can I get additional out of the players? How can I test them psychologically?’’ 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 comparable position to where I am now … very driven, very anxious to prove himself.'

Origins and a Resolute Nature

Fuchs’s motivation comes from his upbringing 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 discloses. {'There are people who let that overcome them or there are people who say: ‘Fuchs 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 show that I can and give absolutely everything. The other thing about my personality is: I’m quite stubborn. 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 previously led Fuchs’s Fox Soccer Academy. Fuchs boots up his laptop to show statistics from a recent 2-2 draw, displaying a slide he used with his players. {'The team hit numerous season peaks,' he points out, noting ball progression and statistics about penetrating defensive lines. Passing accuracy was shown as 87%. {'Not pleased with that … that needs to be in the mid-90s,' he insists. {'My first game, it was very direct, fourth-tier football, but we want to be unique. I think a five-yard pass has a higher probability to arrive than just launching it all the time.'

The overarching numbers paint grim reading. Newport have won 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 last-gasp equaliser with 10 men garnered a precious point. {'We need to be a dominant side at home,' Fuchs stresses. {'It’s just not satisfactory, not even having a win. We need to create a stronghold.'

In the Thick of It at Heart

By his own confession, Fuchs relishes a challenge. {'What’s so bad with that?' He ended his playing career less than three years ago and, like Tuchel, loves being in the heart of the battle. {'I’m a component of the group. I’m still a player in here,' he remarks, pointing to his chest. {'At training I’m always getting involved in the drills – two pannas already, get in! I want us to regard each other as a single unit. Yes, you’re the ones on the field, but we’re a collective, we’re striving towards this as one.'