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'I would say that the chances of us transforming our fortunes are slimmer than Leicester lifting the Premier League, so they are in our favour, right?' The Austrian veteran is talking about his fresh chapter as head coach of the League Two strugglers, and the immense task of staving off 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 much more than a winner's medal. {'It assisted in altering my perspective a little bit ... it proved that the unattainable can be achievable,' he notes.

'How Did Fuchs Wind Up Here?'

The logical place to start is: what brought Fuchs find himself here? 'I imagine that's the part that's not logical, right?' he says, erupting in laughter. It is the 39-year-old's introductory line and a clear sign of his playful character across a wide-ranging conversation. Discourse runs in various tangents, from working under Thomas Tuchel and Brendan Rodgers to the urgent quest to find a local barber.

He opens some post on his desk. There is a note from a Leicester supporter sending best wishes, paired with a couple of professional photographs from that season. {'Young Fuchs,' he remarks, with a smile. Another envelope brings a hoard of old stickers, one from an album celebrating Euro 2016, when he captained Austria. A greeting from the Newport Supporters’ Club has pride of place. Things like this really makes me very happy,' he adds.

A Prior Encounter and a Misspelt Name

Prior to his move back from North Carolina to assume his first job in frontline management last month, Fuchs’s previous visit to Rodney Parade was in January 2019, when Leicester suffered a Newport shock defeat in the FA Cup third round. During that match a former full-back faced off against Fuchs. {'He had the match of his life,' Fuchs admits. But when the official sheets dropped, an curious error emerged. {'You need to edit this,' Fuchs says with a smile. 'They misspelled my name – somehow a 'k' crept in in place of the 'h'. It is amusing because Fuchs, in German, means fox, so it’s something pleasant.'

Insights from The Tinkerman, Rodgers and Tuchel

His move to join the Foxes in the summer of 2015 was a masterstroke. A couple of weeks later Leicester appointed Claudio Ranieri and the rest is history. The Italian arrived at the club in the middle of a pre-season camp in Austria and his light-touch approach did the trick. {'When you observe Claudio you imagine an older man, so long in the business, 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 remained on the sidelines 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 holds dear experiences from Rodgers and Tuchel, under whom he worked while on loan at Mainz. {'He always thought: ‘How can I get extra 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 decision-makers? Back then he was probably in a similar situation to where I am now … very driven, very eager to prove himself.'

Origins and a Resolute Nature

Fuchs’s determination comes from his early years 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 capable enough,' he discloses. {'There are people who let that get the better of them or there are people who say: ‘Forget you, 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 demonstrate that I can and give absolutely everything. The other thing about my character is: I’m very headstrong. If I see possibility, I’m making it happen.'

Analytical Approach and the Battle for Survival

Fuchs’s assistant, Mark Smith, was born in Newport and had been in charge of Fuchs’s Fox Soccer Academy. Fuchs opens his laptop to show analytics from a recent 2-2 draw, presenting a slide he presented to his players. {'The team hit several season highs,' he points out, highlighting ball progression and statistics about getting behind defensive lines. Passing accuracy was logged at 87%. {'Not satisfied 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 distinct. 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 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 earned a precious point. {'We need to be a power at home,' Fuchs stresses. {'It’s just not acceptable, not even having a win. We need to create a impenetrable home.'

In the Thick of It at Heart

By his own admission, Fuchs enjoys 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 part of the group. I’m still a player inside,' he states, pointing to his chest. {'At training I’m always participating in the boxes – two pannas already, get in! I want us to view each other as a single unit. Yes, you’re the ones on the field, but we’re one team, we’re tackling this collectively.'