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'I would say that the odds of us reviving our campaign are lower than Leicester claiming the Premier League, so they are in our benefit, right?' The Austrian veteran is talking about his recent venture as head coach of the Football League's bottom club, and the immense task of staving off a fall into non-league football. This represents a challenge at the polar opposite of the spectrum, though that unbelievable title win in 2016 furnished him far more than a champion's gong. {'It assisted in altering my mindset a little bit ... it proved that the impossible can be achievable,' he states.

'How Did Fuchs Wind Up Here?'

The natural place to start is: what brought Fuchs find himself here? 'That's the element of the story that isn't straightforward, wouldn't you say?' he comments, letting out a laugh. It is the 39-year-old's opening gambit and a clear demonstration of his charismatic character across a wide-ranging conversation. Discourse flows in various tangents, from being managed by Thomas Tuchel and the former Leicester manager to the urgent quest to find a local barber.

He opens some correspondence on his desk. Among it is a letter from a Leicester supporter sending best wishes, along with a couple of professional photographs from that memorable year. {'Young Fuchs,' he says, smiling. Another delivery brings a collection of old Panini stickers, 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 makes me very happy,' he states.

A Past Trip and a Misspelt Name

Until coming back from North Carolina to take on his first job in senior management last month, Fuchs’s last trip to Rodney Parade was in January 2019, when Leicester suffered a Newport cupset in the FA Cup third round. On that occasion a former full-back faced off against Fuchs. {'He had the match of his career,' Fuchs says. But when the official sheets were released, an amusing error came to light. {'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.'

Experiences from Claudio, Rodgers and Tuchel

His choice to join the Foxes in the summer of 2015 proved a masterstroke. A couple of weeks later Leicester hired Claudio Ranieri and what followed is legendary. The Italian joined the club in the middle of a pre-season camp in Austria and his hands-off approach produced miracles. {'When you observe Claudio you imagine an elder gentleman, so long in the business, maybe a bit old school, but he’s so not,' Fuchs states. {'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 values experiences from Rodgers and Tuchel, under whom he worked while on loan at Mainz. {'He always thought: ‘How can I get extra out of the players? How can I challenge them mentally?’’ Fuchs says of Tuchel. {'That’s a big part of our philosophy 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 keen to prove himself.'

Origins and a Determined Character

Fuchs’s determination comes from his early years in Neunkirchen. {'There are parallels to where we are now, because I was told when I was 11 years old that I would never be capable enough,' he shares. {'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 put in the hard yards. The other thing about my make-up is: I’m pretty stubborn. If I see potential, I’m doing it.'

Detailed Approach and the Fight for Survival

Fuchs’s assistant, Mark Smith, was born in Newport and formerly ran 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 several season highs,' he points out, emphasizing ball progression and statistics about penetrating defensive lines. Passing accuracy was recorded at 87%. {'Not pleased with that … that needs to be in the mid-90s,' he insists. {'My first game, it was very long-ball, lower-league football, but we want to be different. I think a five-yard pass has a higher chance to be successful than just launching it all the time.'

The broader numbers make 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 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 secured a precious point. {'We need to be a dominant side at home,' Fuchs says. {'It’s just not satisfactory, not even having a win. We need to build a fortress.'

Still a Player at Heart

By his own acknowledgement, Fuchs enjoys a challenge. {'What’s so bad with that?' He retired less than three years ago and, like Tuchel, loves being in the middle of the action. {'I’m a part of the group. I’m still a player in here,' he remarks, tapping his chest. {'At training I’m always participating in the small-sided games – two pannas already, yes! 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 together.'