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'I would say that the likelihood of us transforming our fortunes are slimmer than Leicester winning the Premier League, so they are in our favour, right?' The Austrian veteran is talking about his recent venture as manager of the Football League's bottom club, and the monumental task of staving off a drop into non-league football. Here lies a challenge at the complete other end of the spectrum of success, though that fairytale title win in 2016 provided him with a great deal more than a Premier League trophy. {'It assisted in altering my perspective a little bit ... it showed that the impossible can be attainable,' he remarks.

The Illogical Path to Rodney Parade

The natural place to start is: what was the journey that led Fuchs end up here? 'That's the part of the story that isn't straightforward, wouldn't you say?' he comments, erupting in laughter. It is the 39-year-old's opening gambit and a clear demonstration of his charismatic character across a fascinating conversation. Discourse flows in various tangents, from playing for the current England boss and Brendan Rodgers to the pressing need to find a local barber.

He opens some post on his desk. There is a message from a Leicester supporter offering encouragement, accompanied by a couple of professional photographs from that season. {'Young Fuchs,' he muses, with a smile. Another package brings a stash of old collector's items, one from an album celebrating Euro 2016, when he led Austria. A greeting from the Newport Supporters’ Club is displayed prominently. Things like this really makes me very pleased,' he states.

A Past Trip and a Misspelt Name

Prior to his move back from North Carolina to take on his first job in frontline management last month, Fuchs’s last trip to Rodney Parade was in January 2019, when Leicester suffered a Newport shock defeat in the FA Cup third round. That day David Pipe competed with Fuchs. {'He had the match of his life,' Fuchs says. But when the official sheets came out, an curious error emerged. {'You need to edit this,' Fuchs remarks. '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 fitting.'

Insights from Claudio, Rodgers and Tuchel

His decision to join the Foxes in the summer of 2015 turned out to be inspired. A couple of weeks later Leicester brought in Claudio Ranieri and an iconic story unfolded. The Italian came to the club in the heart of a pre-season camp in Austria and his observational approach produced miracles. {'When you see Claudio you envision an seasoned professional, so a veteran of the sport, maybe a bit set in his ways, but he’s so not,' Fuchs states. {'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 cherishes insights gained 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 significant part of our approach as well. How can you make good decision-makers? Back then he was probably in a comparable position to where I am now … very focused, very eager to prove himself.'

Roots and a Determined Mindset

Fuchs’s motivation 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 reveals. {'There are people who let that defeat them or there are people who say: ‘Fuchs you, I’m going to show you.’ I’ve been told too many times: ‘You can't 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 pretty headstrong. If I see promise, I’m making it happen.'

Analytical 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 analytics from a recent 2-2 draw, displaying a slide he showed his players. {'The team hit several season peaks,' he explains, highlighting ball progression and statistics about penetrating defensive lines. Passing accuracy was logged at 87%. {'Not pleased with that … that needs to be in the 90-95% range,' he insists. {'My first game, it was very long-ball, fourth-tier football, but we want to be unique. I think a five-yard pass has a higher percentage to find its target than just going long all the time.'

The broader numbers paint bleak 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 tasted victory 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 good enough, not even having a win. We need to build a fortress.'

One of the Lads at Heart

By his own acknowledgement, Fuchs enjoys a challenge. {'What’s so negative with that?' He ended his playing career less than three years ago and, like Tuchel, enjoys being in the middle of the action. {'I’m a component of the group. I’m still a player inside,' he says, indicating his chest. {'At training I’m always joining in in the small-sided games – two nutmegs already, yes! I want us to see each other as one team. Yes, you’re the ones on the field, but we’re all in this together, we’re striving towards this collectively.'