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'The probability of a dramatic turnaround is arguably more remote than that legendary 5,000-1 title, which somehow puts the odds in our favour.' Christian Fuchs is talking about his fresh chapter as head coach of the League Two strugglers, and the monumental task of staving off a drop into non-league football. It is a challenge at the complete other end of the spectrum, though that miraculous title win in 2016 furnished him a great deal more than a champion's gong. {'It contributed to shifting my mindset a little bit ... it proved that the impossible can be possible,' he remarks.

The Unlikely Path to Rodney Parade

The natural place to start is: what was the journey that led Fuchs end up here? 'That's the part of the story that defies logic, wouldn't you say?' he states, letting out a chuckle. This remark acts as the 39-year-old's introductory line and a clear sign of his playful character across a wide-ranging conversation. Our talk runs in various tangents, from working under Thomas Tuchel and Brendan Rodgers to the urgent quest to find a barber in the area.

He looks at some correspondence on his desk. Included is a note from a Leicester supporter wishing him well, along with a couple of glossy photos from that season. {'Young Fuchs,' he muses, with a smile. Another package brings a hoard of old collector's items, one from an album marking Euro 2016, when he led Austria. A note from the Newport Supporters’ Club is given special attention. Things like this makes me very content,' he adds.

A Prior Encounter and a Misspelt Name

Prior to coming back from North Carolina to assume his first job in frontline management last month, Fuchs’s last trip to Rodney Parade was in January 2019, when Leicester were on the end of a Newport cupset in the FA Cup third round. During that match David Pipe duelled against Fuchs. {'He had the game of his life,' Fuchs says. But when the official sheets dropped, an interesting error came to light. {'You need to edit this,' Fuchs remarks. '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 pleasant.'

Lessons from The Tinkerman, Rodgers and Tuchel

His decision to join the Foxes in the summer of 2015 turned out to be a masterstroke. A couple of weeks later Leicester appointed Claudio Ranieri and the rest is history. The Italian came to the club in the midst of a pre-season camp in Austria and his hands-off approach did the trick. {'When you look at Claudio you imagine an elder gentleman, so a veteran of the sport, maybe a bit traditional, but he’s anything but,' 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 observed you for a week and I’m not going to change anything.''

Fuchs cherishes experiences 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 push them psychologically?’’ Fuchs says of Tuchel. {'That’s a big part of our approach as well. How can you make good thinkers on the pitch? Back then he was probably in a comparable position to where I am now … very motivated, very keen to prove himself.'

Background and a Resolute Character

Fuchs’s drive comes from his early years 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 overcome 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 cannot do that.’ I’m going to demonstrate that I can and put in the hard yards. The other thing about my character is: I’m pretty headstrong. 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 had been in charge of Fuchs’s Fox Soccer Academy. Fuchs boots up his laptop to show statistics from a recent 2-2 draw, displaying a slide he presented to his players. {'The team hit many, many season bests,' 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 mid-90s,' he insists. {'My first game, it was very physical, fourth-tier football, but we want to be different. I think a five-yard pass has a higher percentage to find its target than just hoofing it all the time.'

The general numbers present bleak 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 won a game 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 precious point. {'We need to be a force at home,' Fuchs says. {'It’s just not satisfactory, not even having a win. We need to construct a fortress.'

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, likes being in the heart of the battle. {'I’m a part of the group. I’m still a player inside,' he says, indicating his chest. {'At training I’m always joining in in the boxes – two pannas 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 working on this collectively.'