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'I would say that the chances of us reviving our campaign are lower than Leicester winning the Premier League, so they are in our favour, right?' The Austrian veteran is discussing his new life as boss of the League Two strugglers, and the daunting task of staving off a fall into non-league football. It is a challenge at the polar opposite of the spectrum of success, though that miraculous title win in 2016 furnished him much more than a champion's gong. {'It contributed to shifting my outlook a little bit ... it showed that the impossible can be possible,' he states.

The Unlikely Path to Rodney Parade

The obvious place to start is: how did Fuchs find himself here? 'That's the aspect of the story that seems counterintuitive, wouldn't you say?' he comments, letting out laughter. This remark acts as the 39-year-old's initial statement and a clear demonstration of his charismatic character across a fascinating conversation. Discourse flows in multiple pathways, from working under the current England boss and the former Leicester manager to the pressing need to find a barber in the area.

He looks at some post on his desk. Included is a note from a Leicester supporter offering encouragement, paired with a couple of glossy photos from that memorable year. {'Young Fuchs,' he says, smiling. Another envelope brings a collection of old collector's items, one from an album celebrating Euro 2016, when he skippered Austria. A greeting from the Newport Supporters’ Club is displayed prominently. Items like this genuinely makes me very content,' he states.

A Past Trip and a Typographical Error

Until his move back from North Carolina to assume his first job in frontline management last month, Fuchs’s most recent encounter to Rodney Parade was in January 2019, when Leicester suffered a Newport cupset in the FA Cup third round. That day the Newport kit man duelled against Fuchs. {'He had the game of his life,' Fuchs admits. But when the lineup cards came out, an amusing error was discovered. {'You need to edit this,' Fuchs says with a smile. 'They misspelt my name – somehow a 'k' crept 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 inspired. A couple of weeks later Leicester hired Claudio Ranieri and the rest is history. The Italian came to the club in the middle 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 traditional, but he’s anything but,' Fuchs states. {'He just said he was going to monitor 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 modify anything.''

Fuchs holds dear insights gained 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 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 comparable position to where I am now … very motivated, very eager to prove himself.'

Roots and a Determined Mindset

Fuchs’s determination stems from his childhood 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 capable enough,' he shares. {'There are people who let that get the better of 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 not do that.’ I’m going to show that I can and work my socks off. The other thing about my personality is: I’m quite determined. If I see promise, I’m going for it.'

Detailed Approach and the Battle 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, presenting a slide he used with his players. {'The team hit many, many season peaks,' he says, emphasizing ball progression and statistics about breaking defensive lines. Passing accuracy was recorded at 87%. {'Not happy with that … that needs to be in the mid-90s,' he states. {'My first game, it was very direct, lower-league football, but we want to be distinct. I think a five-yard pass has a higher probability to arrive than just launching it all the time.'

The broader numbers paint sobering reading. Newport have won 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 secured three points 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 secured a crucial point. {'We need to be a dominant side at home,' Fuchs emphasizes. {'It’s just not good enough, not even having a win. We need to build a fortress.'

In the Thick of It at Heart

By his own confession, Fuchs enjoys a challenge. {'What’s so bad 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 states, pointing to his chest. {'At training I’m always joining in in the boxes – two megs already, get in! I want us to see each other as one team. Yes, you’re the ones on the field, but we’re one team, we’re tackling this as one.'