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'I estimate that the chances of us turning the season around are slimmer than Leicester winning the Premier League, so they are in our benefit, right?' The Austrian veteran is reflecting on 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. This represents a challenge at the complete other end of the spectrum, though that fairytale title win in 2016 provided him with much more than a champion's gong. {'It helped change my perspective a little bit ... it showed that the unthinkable can be possible,' he notes.

The Illogical Path to Rodney Parade

The obvious place to start is: what was the journey that led Fuchs end up here? 'I imagine that's the part that's not logical, right?' he comments, breaking into laughter. It is the 39-year-old's opening gambit and a clear sign of his engaging character across a fascinating conversation. The discussion travels in various tangents, from working under the current England boss and the former Leicester manager to the pressing need to find a local barber.

He opens some mail on his desk. Among it is a message from a Leicester supporter offering encouragement, along with a couple of professional photographs from that campaign. {'Young Fuchs,' he muses, grinning. Another delivery brings a hoard of old stickers, one from an album commemorating Euro 2016, when he led Austria. A note from the Newport Supporters’ Club has pride of place. Items like this genuinely makes me very content,' he adds.

A Previous Visit and a Typographical Error

Prior to his move back from North Carolina to accept his first job in first-team coaching last month, Fuchs’s most recent encounter to Rodney Parade was in January 2019, when Leicester endured a Newport giantkilling in the FA Cup third round. That day a former full-back competed with Fuchs. {'He had the game of his career,' Fuchs admits. But when the teamsheets came out, an interesting error came to light. {'You need to censor this,' Fuchs jokes. '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 fitting.'

Experiences from Claudio, Rodgers and Tuchel

His decision to join the Foxes in the summer of 2015 was inspired. A couple of weeks later Leicester hired Claudio Ranieri and what followed is legendary. The Italian joined the club in the midst of a pre-season camp in Austria and his hands-off approach did the trick. {'When you see Claudio you envision an older man, so a veteran of the sport, maybe a bit set in his ways, but he’s the complete opposite,' Fuchs says. {'He just said he was going to monitor 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 change anything.''

Fuchs values insights gained from Rodgers and Tuchel, under whom he worked while on loan at Mainz. {'He always pondered: ‘How can I get additional out of the players? How can I challenge them psychologically?’’ Fuchs says of Tuchel. {'That’s a significant part of our philosophy as well. How can you make good decision-makers? Back then he was probably in a similar situation to where I am now … very motivated, very anxious to prove himself.'

Background and a Resolute Mindset

Fuchs’s motivation originates in his upbringing 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 good 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 can't do this, you can't do that.’ I’m going to show that I can and give absolutely everything. The other thing about my character is: I’m very determined. If I see potential, I’m making it happen.'

Detailed Approach and the Struggle 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 data from a recent 2-2 draw, sharing a slide he showed his players. {'The team hit many, many season peaks,' he says, noting ball progression and statistics about breaking defensive lines. Passing accuracy was logged at 87%. {'Not happy with that … that needs to be in the 90-95% range,' he declares. {'My first game, it was very direct, fourth-tier football, but we want to be distinct. I think a five-yard pass has a higher probability to be successful than just launching it all the time.'

The broader numbers make grim 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 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 crucial point. {'We need to be a power at home,' Fuchs says. {'It’s just not good enough, not even having a win. We need to create a stronghold.'

In the Thick of It at Heart

By his own acknowledgement, Fuchs enjoys a challenge. {'What’s so negative with that?' He ended his playing career less than three years ago and, like Tuchel, loves being in the thick of things. {'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 boxes – two megs already, brilliant! I want us to see each other as one team. Yes, you’re the ones on the field, but we’re a collective, we’re striving towards this together.'