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'I reckon that the likelihood of us turning the season around are slimmer than Leicester winning the Premier League, so they are in our favour, right?' The Austrian veteran is discussing his fresh chapter as manager of the Football League's bottom club, and the immense task of preventing a descent into non-league football. Here lies a challenge at the polar opposite of the spectrum of success, though that unbelievable title win in 2016 furnished him much more than a Premier League trophy. {'It helped change my perspective a little bit ... it demonstrated that the impossible can be attainable,' he states.

'How Did Fuchs End Up Here?'

The natural place to start is: how did Fuchs find himself here? 'That's the element of the story that isn't straightforward, wouldn't you say?' he says, erupting in a laugh. It is the 39-year-old's opening gambit and a clear sign of his engaging character across a fascinating conversation. Our talk travels in various tangents, from being managed by Thomas Tuchel and Brendan Rodgers to the immediate requirement to find a barber in the area.

He looks at some post on his desk. There is a note from a Leicester supporter offering encouragement, paired with a couple of shiny pictures from that season. {'Young Fuchs,' he muses, grinning. Another delivery brings a collection of old stickers, one from an album celebrating Euro 2016, when he led Austria. A greeting from the Newport Supporters’ Club is given special attention. Items like this makes me very happy,' he adds.

A Prior Encounter and a Misspelt Name

Until returning from North Carolina to accept 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 giantkilling in the FA Cup third round. On that occasion a former full-back competed with Fuchs. {'He had the performance of his life,' Fuchs says. But when the teamsheets were released, an amusing error was discovered. {'You need to censor this,' Fuchs says with a smile. '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 fitting.'

Insights from Claudio, Rodgers and Tuchel

His decision to join the Foxes in the summer of 2015 was a masterstroke. A couple of weeks later Leicester brought in Claudio Ranieri and the rest is history. The Italian arrived at the club in the midst of a pre-season camp in Austria and his light-touch approach did the trick. {'When you look at Claudio you envision an seasoned professional, so experienced in the game, maybe a bit old school, but he’s anything but,' Fuchs explains. {'He just said he was going to monitor 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 cherishes experiences 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 challenge them mentally?’’ Fuchs says of Tuchel. {'That’s a significant part of our methodology as well. How can you make good thinkers on the pitch? Back then he was probably in a analogous place to where I am now … very focused, very keen to prove himself.'

Roots and a Stubborn Mindset

Fuchs’s determination originates in 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 capable enough,' he discloses. {'There are people who let that defeat 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 cannot do that.’ I’m going to demonstrate that I can and work my socks off. The other thing about my make-up is: I’m quite determined. If I see possibility, 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 fires up his laptop to show data from a recent 2-2 draw, displaying a slide he presented to his players. {'The team hit numerous season peaks,' he says, highlighting ball progression and statistics about penetrating defensive lines. Passing accuracy was logged at 87%. {'Not happy with that … that needs to be in the 90-95% range,' he declares. {'My first game, it was very physical, lower-league football, but we want to be unique. I think a five-yard pass has a higher probability to find its target than just launching it all the time.'

The general numbers present sobering reading. Newport have managed three of 19 league matches and are winless 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 93rd-minute equaliser with 10 men garnered a crucial point. {'We need to be a power at home,' Fuchs says. {'It’s just not satisfactory, not even having a win. We need to construct a fortress.'

Still a Player at Heart

By his own admission, Fuchs likes a challenge. {'What’s so bad with that?' He retired 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 at heart,' he remarks, indicating his chest. {'At training I’m always participating in the drills – two nutmegs already, get in! I want us to see each other as one team. Yes, you’re the ones on the field, but we’re one team, we’re tackling this as one.'