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'I would say that the chances of us transforming our fortunes are slimmer than Leicester winning the Premier League, so they are in our benefit, right?' The Austrian veteran is talking about his fresh chapter as manager of Newport County, and the monumental task of staving off a fall into non-league football. Here lies a challenge at the polar opposite of the scale, though that unbelievable title win in 2016 gave him much more than a champion's gong. {'It assisted in altering my mindset a little bit ... it proved that the unattainable can be possible,' he remarks.

'How Did Fuchs End Up Here?'

The natural place to start is: how did Fuchs find himself here? 'That's the element of the story that defies logic, wouldn't you say?' he says, letting out a laugh. This remark acts as the 39-year-old's opening gambit and a clear demonstration of his engaging character across a fascinating conversation. The discussion runs in different directions, from working under the current England boss and Brendan Rodgers to the urgent quest to find a barber in the area.

He sorts through some post on his desk. Among it is a message from a Leicester supporter wishing him well, along with a couple of shiny pictures from that season. {'Young Fuchs,' he muses, with a smile. Another envelope brings a collection of old stickers, one from an album marking Euro 2016, when he led Austria. A card from the Newport Supporters’ Club is displayed prominently. Items like this makes me very pleased,' he adds.

A Prior Encounter and a Misspelt Name

Until coming back from North Carolina to assume his first job in first-team coaching last month, Fuchs’s most recent encounter to Rodney Parade was in January 2019, when Leicester suffered a Newport shock defeat in the FA Cup third round. On that occasion the Newport kit man faced off against Fuchs. {'He had the game of his life,' Fuchs admits. But when the official sheets were released, an amusing error was discovered. {'You need to censor this,' Fuchs says with a smile. 'They got wrong 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 nice.'

Experiences from Claudio, Rodgers and Tuchel

His move to join the Foxes in the summer of 2015 was brilliant. A couple of weeks later Leicester appointed Claudio Ranieri and what followed is legendary. The Italian arrived at the club in the middle of a pre-season camp in Austria and his hands-off approach did the trick. {'When you look at Claudio you envision an seasoned professional, so long in the business, maybe a bit old school, but he’s so not,' Fuchs says. {'He just said he was going to watch 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 change anything.''

Fuchs cherishes lessons learned from Rodgers and Tuchel, under whom he worked while on loan at Mainz. {'He always considered: ‘How can I get extra out of the players? How can I push them psychologically?’’ Fuchs says of Tuchel. {'That’s a big part of our methodology 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 motivated, very anxious to prove himself.'

Background and a Resolute Mindset

Fuchs’s determination stems from his early years 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 skilled enough,' he shares. {'There are people who let that overcome them or there are people who say: ‘Fuchs you, 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 prove that I can and work my socks off. The other thing about my personality is: I’m very determined. If I see promise, I’m making it happen.'

Data-Driven Approach and the Struggle 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 statistics from a recent 2-2 draw, displaying a slide he used with his players. {'The team hit many, many season peaks,' he explains, highlighting ball progression and statistics about breaking defensive lines. Passing accuracy was shown as 87%. {'Not pleased with that … that needs to be in the mid-90s,' he states. {'My first game, it was very long-ball, lower-league football, but we want to be unique. I think a five-yard pass has a higher probability to be successful than just launching it all the time.'

The general numbers present bleak 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 tasted victory at home for 273 days and have kept just two clean sheets in 26 matches this season. But a recent last-gasp equaliser with 10 men secured a precious point. {'We need to be a force at home,' Fuchs stresses. {'It’s just not good enough, not even having a win. We need to build a stronghold.'

In the Thick of It at Heart

By his own admission, Fuchs likes 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 at heart,' he says, pointing to his chest. {'At training I’m always participating in the drills – two nutmegs already, get in! I want us to view each other as a unified group. Yes, you’re the ones on the field, but we’re a collective, we’re working on this collectively.'