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'I reckon that the odds of us turning the season around are lower than Leicester claiming the Premier League, so they are in our favor, right?' The Austrian veteran is talking about his fresh chapter as manager of the Football League's bottom club, and the daunting task of averting a fall into non-league football. Here lies a challenge at the polar opposite of the spectrum of success, though that fairytale title win in 2016 provided him with a great deal more than a Premier League trophy. {'It helped change my mindset a little bit ... it demonstrated that the unattainable can be possible,' he notes.

'How Did Fuchs Find Himself Here?'

The obvious place to start is: how did Fuchs find himself here? 'That's the element of the story that seems counterintuitive, wouldn't you say?' he comments, erupting in a laugh. This remark acts as the 39-year-old's introductory line and a clear indication of his engaging character across a fascinating conversation. The discussion flows in multiple pathways, from working under the current England boss and the former Leicester manager to the immediate requirement to find a local barber.

He looks at some correspondence on his desk. There is a message from a Leicester supporter offering encouragement, accompanied by a couple of shiny pictures from that season. {'Young Fuchs,' he remarks, smiling. Another package brings a hoard of old Panini stickers, one from an album celebrating Euro 2016, when he led Austria. A note from the Newport Supporters’ Club is displayed prominently. 'Stuff like this genuinely makes me very content,' he states.

A Past Trip and a Funny Mistake

Until returning from North Carolina to assume his first job in first-team coaching last month, Fuchs’s last trip to Rodney Parade was in January 2019, when Leicester were on the end of a Newport shock defeat in the FA Cup third round. That day a former full-back competed with Fuchs. {'He had the performance of his life,' Fuchs says. But when the lineup cards were released, an curious error was discovered. {'You need to censor this,' Fuchs jokes. 'They misspelled my name – somehow a 'k' smuggled itself in in place of the 'h'. It is funny because Fuchs, in German, means fox, so it’s something nice.'

Experiences from Ranieri, Rodgers and Tuchel

His choice to join the Foxes in the summer of 2015 was brilliant. A couple of weeks later Leicester brought in Claudio Ranieri and the rest is history. The Italian arrived at the club in the middle of a pre-season camp in Austria and his observational approach worked wonders. {'When you look at Claudio you envision an elder gentleman, so long in the business, maybe a bit set in his ways, but he’s so not,' Fuchs says. {'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 studied you for a week and I’m not going to alter anything.''

Fuchs values insights gained from Rodgers and Tuchel, under whom he worked while on loan at Mainz. {'He always thought: ‘How can I get additional 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 similar situation to where I am now … very focused, very keen to prove himself.'

Roots and a Determined Nature

Fuchs’s drive stems 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 good enough,' he reveals. {'There are people who let that get the better of them or there are people who say: ‘Forget you, I’m going to show you.’ I’ve been told too many times: ‘You cannot 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 very headstrong. If I see potential, I’m going for it.'

Data-Driven Approach and the Fight 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, presenting a slide he used with his players. {'The team hit several season highs,' he explains, highlighting ball progression and statistics about getting behind defensive lines. Passing accuracy was shown as 87%. {'Not satisfied with that … that needs to be in the mid-90s,' he insists. {'My first game, it was very direct, lower-league football, but we want to be distinct. I think a five-yard pass has a higher chance to be successful than just going long all the time.'

The overarching numbers paint sobering reading. Newport have won 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 tasted victory 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 secured a crucial point. {'We need to be a power at home,' Fuchs stresses. {'It’s just not satisfactory, not even having a win. We need to construct a stronghold.'

One of the Lads at Heart

By his own admission, Fuchs likes a challenge. {'What’s so wrong with that?' He retired less than three years ago and, like Tuchel, enjoys being in the thick of things. {'I’m a component of the group. I’m still a player in here,' he states, tapping his chest. {'At training I’m always getting involved in the small-sided games – two nutmegs already, yes! 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 tackling this together.'