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'I would say that the odds of us turning the season around are slimmer than Leicester claiming the Premier League, so they are in our favour, right?' The Austrian veteran is discussing his recent venture as boss of the League Two strugglers, and the monumental task of averting a descent into non-league football. It is a challenge at the complete other end of the spectrum of success, though that fairytale title win in 2016 gave him a great deal more than a Premier League trophy. {'It contributed to shifting my outlook a little bit ... it proved that the impossible can be possible,' he notes.

The Surprising Path to Rodney Parade

The logical place to start is: what was the journey that led Fuchs end up here? 'I imagine that's the part that's not logical, right?' he says, erupting in a chuckle. It is the 39-year-old's opening gambit and a clear demonstration of his charismatic character across a wide-ranging 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 sorts through some mail on his desk. Included is a message from a Leicester supporter wishing him well, accompanied by a couple of shiny pictures from that season. {'Young Fuchs,' he says, with a smile. Another delivery brings a collection of old stickers, one from an album celebrating Euro 2016, when he skippered Austria. A card from the Newport Supporters’ Club has pride of place. Items like this really makes me very pleased,' he adds.

A Prior Encounter and a Funny Mistake

Prior to coming back from North Carolina to take on his first job in first-team coaching last month, Fuchs’s most recent encounter 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 the Newport kit man competed with Fuchs. {'He had the game of his life,' Fuchs says. But when the lineup cards dropped, an curious error was discovered. {'You need to edit this,' Fuchs says with a smile. 'They misspelled my name – somehow a 'k' smuggled itself in in place of the 'h'. It is amusing because Fuchs, in German, means fox, so it’s something nice.'

Lessons from Claudio, Rodgers and Tuchel

His move to join the Foxes in the summer of 2015 was inspired. A couple of weeks later Leicester appointed Claudio Ranieri and the rest is history. The Italian joined the club in the heart of a pre-season camp in Austria and his light-touch approach produced miracles. {'When you observe Claudio you picture an older man, so a veteran of the sport, maybe a bit old school, but he’s the complete opposite,' Fuchs says. {'He just said he was going to observe 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 change anything.''

Fuchs values lessons learned from Rodgers and Tuchel, under whom he worked while on loan at Mainz. {'He always pondered: ‘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 players who choose wisely? Back then he was probably in a comparable position to where I am now … very driven, very eager to prove himself.'

Background and a Stubborn Mindset

Fuchs’s drive comes from his upbringing in Neunkirchen. {'There are comparisons 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 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 give absolutely everything. The other thing about my make-up is: I’m pretty stubborn. If I see possibility, I’m going for it.'

Analytical Approach and the Fight 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 analytics from a recent 2-2 draw, sharing a slide he used with his players. {'The team hit several season peaks,' he explains, emphasizing 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, League Two football, but we want to be different. I think a five-yard pass has a higher probability to find its target than just going long all the time.'

The overarching numbers make 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 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 earned a precious point. {'We need to be a force at home,' Fuchs says. {'It’s just not satisfactory, not even having a win. We need to construct a fortress.'

One of the Lads at Heart

By his own confession, Fuchs likes a challenge. {'What’s so negative with that?' He hung up his boots less than three years ago and, like Tuchel, likes being in the heart of the battle. {'I’m a part of the group. I’m still a player in here,' he says, pointing to his chest. {'At training I’m always participating in the small-sided games – two megs already, brilliant! I want us to see each other as one team. Yes, you’re the ones on the field, but we’re a collective, we’re working on this together.'