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'I reckon that the chances of us turning the season around are slimmer than Leicester lifting the Premier League, so they are in our favour, right?' The Austrian veteran is discussing his new life as boss of the Football League's bottom club, and the daunting task of preventing a drop into non-league football. Here lies a challenge at the polar opposite of the spectrum of success, though that miraculous title win in 2016 furnished him far more than a Premier League trophy. {'It helped change my perspective a little bit ... it proved that the unattainable can be attainable,' he remarks.

The Surprising Path to Rodney Parade

The logical place to start is: how did Fuchs end up here? 'That's the part of the story that isn't straightforward, wouldn't you say?' he states, erupting in a chuckle. This remark acts as the 39-year-old's opening gambit and a clear indication of his playful character across a colourful conversation. Our talk runs in multiple pathways, from working under the current England boss and Brendan Rodgers to the immediate requirement to find a nearby hairdresser.

He opens some correspondence on his desk. There is a note from a Leicester supporter offering encouragement, along with a couple of professional photographs from that campaign. {'Young Fuchs,' he says, with a smile. Another envelope brings a collection of old collector's items, one from an album celebrating Euro 2016, when he captained Austria. A card from the Newport Supporters’ Club has pride of place. Things like this makes me very pleased,' he states.

A Prior Encounter and a Typographical Error

Prior to returning from North Carolina to accept his first job in senior management last month, Fuchs’s most recent encounter to Rodney Parade was in January 2019, when Leicester suffered a Newport shock defeat in the FA Cup third round. On that occasion a former full-back faced off against Fuchs. {'He had the performance of his life,' Fuchs admits. But when the lineup cards were released, an interesting error was discovered. {'You need to edit this,' Fuchs says with a smile. 'They misspelt my name – somehow a 'k' found its way in in place of the 'h'. It is hilarious because Fuchs, in German, means fox, so it’s something fitting.'

Experiences from The Tinkerman, Rodgers and Tuchel

His move to join the Foxes in the summer of 2015 was brilliant. A couple of weeks later Leicester hired Claudio Ranieri and what followed is legendary. The Italian came to the club in the heart of a pre-season camp in Austria and his observational approach worked wonders. {'When you observe Claudio you imagine an older man, so a veteran of the sport, maybe a bit old school, but he’s so not,' Fuchs explains. {'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 additional out of the players? How can I challenge them psychologically?’’ 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 analogous place to where I am now … very motivated, very anxious to prove himself.'

Roots and a Resolute Mindset

Fuchs’s drive stems from his upbringing 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 shares. {'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 cannot 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 character is: I’m quite headstrong. If I see potential, I’m going for it.'

Detailed Approach and the Struggle 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 analytics from a recent 2-2 draw, presenting a slide he presented to his players. {'The team hit numerous 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 states. {'My first game, it was very direct, fourth-tier football, but we want to be distinct. I think a five-yard pass has a higher probability to find its target than just hoofing it all the time.'

The broader numbers make sobering 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 secured three points 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 garnered a valuable point. {'We need to be a dominant side at home,' Fuchs says. {'It’s just not good enough, not even having a win. We need to build a impenetrable home.'

One of the Lads at Heart

By his own confession, Fuchs likes a challenge. {'What’s so bad with that?' He hung up his boots less than three years ago and, like Tuchel, likes being in the thick of things. {'I’m a component of the group. I’m still a player inside,' he remarks, pointing to his chest. {'At training I’m always participating in the small-sided games – two pannas already, get in! 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 striving towards this together.'