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'The prospect of a dramatic turnaround is arguably more remote than that fabled 5,000-1 title, which strangely puts the odds in our corner.' The Austrian veteran is discussing his new life as head coach of the Football League's bottom club, and the immense task of preventing a fall into non-league football. It is a challenge at the polar opposite of the scale, though that fairytale title win in 2016 furnished him much more than a Premier League trophy. {'It helped change my outlook a little bit ... it showed that the unattainable can be achievable,' he notes.

'How Did Fuchs End Up Here?'

The logical place to start is: how did Fuchs find himself here? 'I suppose that's the part that's unpredictable, right?' he comments, letting out a chuckle. It is the 39-year-old's initial statement and a clear demonstration of his engaging character across a fascinating conversation. Discourse flows in multiple pathways, from working under the current England boss and Brendan Rodgers to the pressing need to find a nearby hairdresser.

He looks at 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 memorable year. {'Young Fuchs,' he muses, grinning. Another delivery brings a hoard of old stickers, one from an album commemorating Euro 2016, when he captained Austria. A card from the Newport Supporters’ Club has pride of place. 'Stuff like this really makes me very happy,' he states.

A Past Trip and a Misspelt Name

Until his move back from North Carolina to take on his first job in senior 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. That day David Pipe duelled against Fuchs. {'He had the match of his career,' Fuchs recalls. But when the official sheets were released, an amusing error came to light. {'You need to redact this,' Fuchs says with a smile. 'They misspelt 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 Ranieri, Rodgers and Tuchel

His decision to join the Foxes in the summer of 2015 proved inspired. A couple of weeks later Leicester hired Claudio Ranieri and what followed is legendary. The Italian arrived at the club in the heart of a pre-season camp in Austria and his hands-off approach did the trick. {'When you look at Claudio you picture an seasoned professional, so a veteran of the sport, maybe a bit old school, but he’s anything but,' Fuchs says. {'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 observed you for a week and I’m not going to modify anything.''

Fuchs values lessons learned 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 test them psychologically?’’ Fuchs says of Tuchel. {'That’s a significant part of our methodology as well. How can you make good players who choose wisely? Back then he was probably in a analogous place to where I am now … very focused, very anxious to prove himself.'

Background and a Resolute Nature

Fuchs’s motivation stems from his early years 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 skilled enough,' he shares. {'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 cannot do this, you can not do that.’ I’m going to show that I can and give absolutely everything. The other thing about my personality is: I’m pretty headstrong. If I see promise, I’m doing it.'

Data-Driven 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 fires up his laptop to show analytics from a recent 2-2 draw, displaying a slide he used with his players. {'The team hit many, many season bests,' he explains, highlighting ball progression and statistics about breaking defensive lines. Passing accuracy was recorded at 87%. {'Not satisfied with that … that needs to be in the mid-90s,' he declares. {'My first game, it was very physical, fourth-tier football, but we want to be unique. I think a five-yard pass has a higher probability to arrive than just hoofing it all the time.'

The general numbers present grim reading. Newport have won 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 tasted victory 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 precious point. {'We need to be a dominant side at home,' Fuchs says. {'It’s just not good enough, not even having a win. We need to construct a stronghold.'

One of the Lads at Heart

By his own admission, Fuchs relishes a challenge. {'What’s so bad with that?' He hung up his boots less than three years ago and, like Tuchel, likes being in the middle of the action. {'I’m a member of the group. I’m still a player in here,' he states, indicating his chest. {'At training I’m always joining in in the drills – two nutmegs already, yes! I want us to view each other as a unified group. Yes, you’re the ones on the field, but we’re all in this together, we’re tackling this together.'