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'I reckon that the odds of us reviving our campaign are slimmer than Leicester lifting the Premier League, so they are in our favor, right?' The Austrian veteran is reflecting on his recent venture as manager of the League Two strugglers, and the monumental task of averting a fall into non-league football. It is a challenge at the complete other end of the scale, though that miraculous title win in 2016 furnished him far more than a winner's medal. {'It assisted in altering my outlook a little bit ... it showed that the unthinkable can be possible,' he remarks.

'How Did Fuchs End Up Here?'

The natural place to start is: how did Fuchs end up here? 'That's the aspect of the story that defies logic, wouldn't you say?' he comments, breaking into a laugh. This serves as the 39-year-old's opening gambit and a clear sign of his playful character across a wide-ranging conversation. Discourse runs in different directions, from working under the current England boss and the former Leicester manager to the urgent quest to find a barber in the area.

He sorts through some post on his desk. Included is a note from a Leicester supporter offering encouragement, paired with a couple of glossy photos from that campaign. {'Young Fuchs,' he muses, grinning. Another envelope brings a collection of old collector's items, one from an album marking Euro 2016, when he captained Austria. A greeting from the Newport Supporters’ Club is displayed prominently. 'Stuff like this really makes me very content,' he states.

A Past Trip and a Misspelt Name

Until returning from North Carolina to accept his first job in frontline management last month, Fuchs’s last trip to Rodney Parade was in January 2019, when Leicester were on the end of a Newport cupset in the FA Cup third round. On that occasion the Newport kit man competed with Fuchs. {'He had the match of his life,' Fuchs admits. But when the official sheets dropped, an curious error was discovered. {'You need to edit this,' Fuchs jokes. 'They got wrong my name – somehow a 'k' found its way in in place of the 'h'. It is funny because Fuchs, in German, means fox, so it’s something pleasant.'

Experiences from The Tinkerman, Rodgers and Tuchel

His decision to join the Foxes in the summer of 2015 turned out to be a masterstroke. A couple of weeks later Leicester hired Claudio Ranieri and the rest is history. The Italian came to the club in the midst of a pre-season camp in Austria and his observational approach did the trick. {'When you observe Claudio you imagine an elder gentleman, so long in the business, maybe a bit set in his ways, but he’s anything but,' 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 watched you for a week and I’m not going to change anything.''

Fuchs holds dear lessons learned 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 test them mentally?’’ Fuchs says of Tuchel. {'That’s a big part of our approach 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.'

Background and a Determined Character

Fuchs’s determination stems from his childhood 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 shares. {'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 cannot do this, you cannot do that.’ I’m going to demonstrate that I can and put in the hard yards. The other thing about my make-up is: I’m pretty stubborn. If I see possibility, I’m making it happen.'

Analytical Approach and the Struggle for Survival

Fuchs’s assistant, Mark Smith, was born in Newport and formerly ran Fuchs’s Fox Soccer Academy. Fuchs opens his laptop to show data from a recent 2-2 draw, sharing a slide he presented to his players. {'The team hit many, many season bests,' he explains, emphasizing ball progression and statistics about getting behind defensive lines. Passing accuracy was recorded at 87%. {'Not pleased with that … that needs to be in the mid-90s,' he insists. {'My first game, it was very long-ball, League Two football, but we want to be distinct. I think a five-yard pass has a higher percentage to arrive than just going long all the time.'

The overarching numbers paint 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 won a game at home for 273 days and have kept just two clean sheets in 26 matches this season. But a recent injury-time equaliser with 10 men secured a valuable point. {'We need to be a force at home,' Fuchs says. {'It’s just not acceptable, not even having a win. We need to construct a stronghold.'

Still a Player at Heart

By his own confession, Fuchs enjoys a challenge. {'What’s so negative with that?' He retired less than three years ago and, like Tuchel, enjoys being in the heart of the battle. {'I’m a member of the group. I’m still a player at heart,' he remarks, pointing to his chest. {'At training I’m always participating in the boxes – two nutmegs already, yes! I want us to see each other as a unified group. Yes, you’re the ones on the field, but we’re one team, we’re striving towards this together.'