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'I estimate that the odds of us reviving our campaign are less than Leicester winning the Premier League, so they are in our benefit, right?' The Austrian veteran is reflecting on his fresh chapter as boss of the Football League's bottom club, and the monumental task of preventing a drop into non-league football. Here lies a challenge at the complete other end of the scale, though that fairytale title win in 2016 provided him with far more than a winner's medal. {'It helped change my mindset a little bit ... it showed that the unthinkable can be achievable,' he remarks.

The Unlikely Path to Rodney Parade

The logical place to start is: how did Fuchs end up here? 'That's the part of the story that seems counterintuitive, wouldn't you say?' he comments, letting out a chuckle. This remark acts as the 39-year-old's opening gambit and a clear demonstration of his playful character across a wide-ranging conversation. Discourse runs in different directions, from playing for the current England boss and Brendan Rodgers to the immediate requirement to find a nearby hairdresser.

He sorts through some correspondence on his desk. Included is a letter from a Leicester supporter sending best wishes, paired with a couple of professional photographs from that season. {'Young Fuchs,' he remarks, grinning. Another delivery brings a stash of old collector's items, one from an album commemorating Euro 2016, when he led Austria. A note from the Newport Supporters’ Club has pride of place. 'Stuff like this really makes me very content,' he states.

A Prior Encounter and a Typographical Error

Prior to returning from North Carolina to accept his first job in frontline management last month, Fuchs’s previous visit to Rodney Parade was in January 2019, when Leicester endured a Newport giantkilling in the FA Cup third round. On that occasion the Newport kit man duelled against Fuchs. {'He had the game of his life,' Fuchs recalls. But when the official sheets dropped, an interesting error emerged. {'You need to redact this,' Fuchs says with a smile. 'They misspelled my name – somehow a 'k' smuggled itself in in place of the 'h'. It is hilarious because Fuchs, in German, means fox, so it’s something pleasant.'

Insights from Claudio, Rodgers and Tuchel

His choice to join the Foxes in the summer of 2015 proved a masterstroke. A couple of weeks later Leicester hired Claudio Ranieri and the rest is history. The Italian came to the club in the heart of a pre-season camp in Austria and his observational approach did the trick. {'When you see Claudio you imagine an elder gentleman, so long in the business, maybe a bit old school, but he’s the complete opposite,' Fuchs states. {'He just said he was going to observe training in Austria for the first week. He didn’t get involved 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 cherishes experiences 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 challenge them mentally?’’ Fuchs says of Tuchel. {'That’s a big part of our philosophy 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 anxious to prove himself.'

Origins and a Stubborn Mindset

Fuchs’s drive originates in 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 overcome them or there are people who say: ‘Watch me, 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 show that I can and give absolutely everything. The other thing about my character is: I’m pretty stubborn. 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 previously led Fuchs’s Fox Soccer Academy. Fuchs boots up his laptop to show data from a recent 2-2 draw, presenting a slide he used with his players. {'The team hit several season peaks,' he explains, emphasizing ball progression and statistics about penetrating defensive lines. Passing accuracy was shown as 87%. {'Not satisfied with that … that needs to be in the mid-90s,' he declares. {'My first game, it was very physical, lower-league football, but we want to be different. I think a five-yard pass has a higher chance to be successful than just hoofing it all the time.'

The overarching numbers make sobering reading. Newport have secured 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 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 earned a valuable point. {'We need to be a force at home,' Fuchs stresses. {'It’s just not satisfactory, 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 bad with that?' He hung up his boots less than three years ago and, like Tuchel, loves being in the middle of the action. {'I’m a part of the group. I’m still a player inside,' he states, tapping his chest. {'At training I’m always getting involved in the small-sided games – two megs already, brilliant! I want us to see each other as a unified group. Yes, you’re the ones on the field, but we’re a collective, we’re striving towards this together.'