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'I would say that the likelihood of us reviving our campaign are slimmer than Leicester winning the Premier League, so they are in our favor, right?' The Austrian veteran is discussing his fresh chapter as head coach of the Football League's bottom club, and the daunting task of preventing a fall into non-league football. This represents a challenge at the polar opposite of the spectrum, though that fairytale title win in 2016 furnished him much more than a winner's medal. {'It contributed to shifting my perspective a little bit ... it proved that the impossible can be attainable,' he notes.

The Surprising Path to Rodney Parade

The obvious place to start is: what was the journey that led Fuchs find himself here? 'I guess that's the part that's not logical, right?' he says, letting out a chuckle. It is the 39-year-old's opening gambit and a clear indication of his playful character across a colourful conversation. Discourse runs in different directions, from playing for Thomas Tuchel and the former Leicester manager to the urgent quest to find a barber in the area.

He looks at some mail on his desk. Included is a letter from a Leicester supporter wishing him well, paired with a couple of glossy photos from that memorable year. {'Young Fuchs,' he remarks, smiling. Another envelope 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 given special attention. 'Stuff like this genuinely makes me very pleased,' he concludes.

A Past Trip and a Typographical Error

Prior to coming back from North Carolina to assume his first job in senior management last month, Fuchs’s last trip to Rodney Parade was in January 2019, when Leicester endured a Newport cupset in the FA Cup third round. During that match a former full-back faced off against Fuchs. {'He had the game of his career,' Fuchs recalls. But when the official sheets dropped, an curious error emerged. {'You need to censor this,' Fuchs says with a smile. 'They got wrong 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 pleasant.'

Experiences 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 brought in Claudio Ranieri and what followed is legendary. The Italian arrived at the club in the midst of a pre-season camp in Austria and his observational approach worked wonders. {'When you observe Claudio you picture 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 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 alter anything.''

Fuchs values lessons learned from Rodgers and Tuchel, under whom he worked while on loan at Mainz. {'He always considered: ‘How can I get extra out of the players? How can I challenge them psychologically?’’ Fuchs says of Tuchel. {'That’s a major 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 motivated, very eager to prove himself.'

Origins and a Stubborn Character

Fuchs’s motivation originates in his childhood 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 good enough,' he reveals. {'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 cannot do this, you can not do that.’ I’m going to show that I can and work my socks off. The other thing about my make-up is: I’m quite determined. If I see potential, I’m going for it.'

Data-Driven Approach and the Struggle for Survival

Fuchs’s assistant, Mark Smith, was born in Newport and had been in charge of Fuchs’s Fox Soccer Academy. Fuchs fires up his laptop to show analytics from a recent 2-2 draw, sharing a slide he presented to his players. {'The team hit numerous season peaks,' he points out, highlighting ball progression and statistics about penetrating 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 physical, League Two 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 general numbers present grim 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 secured a crucial point. {'We need to be a force at home,' Fuchs emphasizes. {'It’s just not satisfactory, not even having a win. We need to build a fortress.'

One of the Lads at Heart

By his own confession, Fuchs likes a challenge. {'What’s so negative 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 at heart,' he states, pointing to his chest. {'At training I’m always joining in in the small-sided games – two megs already, yes! I want us to view each other as a single unit. Yes, you’re the ones on the field, but we’re all in this together, we’re striving towards this collectively.'