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'I would say that the chances of us transforming our fortunes are less than Leicester winning the Premier League, so they are in our favour, right?' The Austrian veteran is reflecting on his new life as boss of the League Two strugglers, and the daunting task of staving off a descent into non-league football. It is a challenge at the polar opposite of the scale, though that fairytale title win in 2016 gave him a great deal more than a winner's medal. {'It assisted in altering my mindset a little bit ... it proved that the impossible can be achievable,' he states.

'How Did Fuchs Find Himself Here?'

The natural place to start is: what brought Fuchs end up here? 'I imagine that's the part that's unpredictable, right?' he comments, letting out a chuckle. It is the 39-year-old's introductory line and a clear indication of his engaging character across a colourful conversation. Our talk flows in various tangents, from playing for Thomas Tuchel and the former Leicester manager to the urgent quest to find a local barber.

He opens some correspondence on his desk. There is a note from a Leicester supporter offering encouragement, along with a couple of professional photographs from that memorable year. {'Young Fuchs,' he muses, grinning. Another delivery brings a stash of old collector's items, one from an album commemorating Euro 2016, when he captained Austria. A card from the Newport Supporters’ Club has pride of place. Items like this makes me very pleased,' he concludes.

A Previous Visit and a Misspelt Name

Until coming back from North Carolina to take on his first job in senior management last month, Fuchs’s last trip to Rodney Parade was in January 2019, when Leicester endured a Newport cupset in the FA Cup third round. That day a former full-back competed with Fuchs. {'He had the performance of his life,' Fuchs recalls. But when the teamsheets dropped, an curious error was discovered. {'You need to edit this,' Fuchs jokes. 'They misspelled my name – somehow a 'k' found its way in in place of the 'h'. It is amusing 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 turned out to be a masterstroke. A couple of weeks later Leicester appointed 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 light-touch approach produced miracles. {'When you observe Claudio you envision an seasoned professional, so experienced in the game, maybe a bit traditional, but he’s anything but,' Fuchs says. {'He just said he was going to watch training in Austria for the first week. He remained on the sidelines 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 cherishes experiences from Rodgers and Tuchel, under whom he worked while on loan at Mainz. {'He always pondered: ‘How can I get more out of the players? How can I challenge them mentally?’’ Fuchs says of Tuchel. {'That’s a major part of our philosophy as well. How can you make good players who choose wisely? Back then he was probably in a similar situation to where I am now … very driven, very keen to prove himself.'

Roots and a Resolute Nature

Fuchs’s motivation originates in his upbringing 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 reveals. {'There are people who let that defeat them or there are people who say: ‘Watch me, I’m going to show you.’ I’ve been told too many times: ‘You can not do this, you can't do that.’ I’m going to demonstrate that I can and give absolutely everything. The other thing about my character is: I’m very stubborn. If I see possibility, I’m going for 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 opens his laptop to show analytics from a recent 2-2 draw, sharing a slide he presented to his players. {'The team hit many, many season highs,' he explains, emphasizing ball progression and statistics about breaking defensive lines. Passing accuracy was recorded at 87%. {'Not pleased with that … that needs to be in the 90-95% range,' he declares. {'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 probability to find its target than just launching it all the time.'

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

In the Thick of It at Heart

By his own acknowledgement, Fuchs relishes a challenge. {'What’s so negative 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 member of the group. I’m still a player at heart,' he says, tapping his chest. {'At training I’m always getting involved in the drills – two pannas 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 working on this together.'