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'I reckon that the odds of us transforming our fortunes are slimmer than Leicester lifting the Premier League, so they are in our favor, right?' The Austrian veteran is discussing his recent venture as manager of the League Two strugglers, and the monumental task of staving off a descent into non-league football. This represents a challenge at the complete other end of the scale, though that unbelievable title win in 2016 furnished him a great deal more than a Premier League trophy. {'It contributed to shifting my perspective a little bit ... it showed that the impossible can be achievable,' he notes.

'How Did Fuchs End Up Here?'

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 says, letting out a laugh. This serves as the 39-year-old's introductory line and a clear demonstration of his charismatic character across a colourful conversation. Our talk flows in various tangents, from playing for the current England boss and the former Leicester manager to the immediate requirement to find a nearby hairdresser.

He looks at some post on his desk. Included is a message from a Leicester supporter sending best wishes, paired with a couple of professional photographs from that memorable year. {'Young Fuchs,' he says, smiling. Another package brings a hoard of old stickers, one from an album marking Euro 2016, when he skippered Austria. A greeting from the Newport Supporters’ Club is displayed prominently. 'Stuff like this makes me very content,' he concludes.

A Prior Encounter and a Misspelt Name

Until coming back from North Carolina to assume his first job in frontline management 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. That day the Newport kit man duelled against Fuchs. {'He had the performance of his career,' Fuchs says. But when the teamsheets came out, an amusing error emerged. {'You need to censor this,' Fuchs says with a smile. 'They misspelled 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 inspired. A couple of weeks later Leicester hired Claudio Ranieri and what followed is legendary. The Italian came to the club in the heart of a pre-season camp in Austria and his hands-off approach produced miracles. {'When you see Claudio you envision an seasoned professional, so a veteran of the sport, maybe a bit old school, but he’s anything but,' Fuchs explains. {'He just said he was going to monitor training in Austria for the first week. He stayed out of it 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 alter anything.''

Fuchs cherishes lessons learned 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 test them mentally?’’ Fuchs says of Tuchel. {'That’s a major part of our methodology as well. How can you make good decision-makers? Back then he was probably in a comparable position to where I am now … very motivated, very anxious to prove himself.'

Origins and a Resolute Mindset

Fuchs’s motivation stems from his childhood in Neunkirchen. {'There are parallels 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: ‘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 demonstrate that I can and give absolutely everything. The other thing about my character is: I’m very determined. If I see potential, I’m going for it.'

Data-Driven Approach and the Fight for Survival

Fuchs’s assistant, Mark Smith, was born in Newport and formerly ran Fuchs’s Fox Soccer Academy. Fuchs opens his laptop to show statistics from a recent 2-2 draw, sharing a slide he presented to his players. {'The team hit numerous season peaks,' he says, 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 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 chance to be successful than just going long all the time.'

The overarching numbers paint sobering reading. Newport have managed 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 garnered a crucial point. {'We need to be a power at home,' Fuchs emphasizes. {'It’s just not acceptable, not even having a win. We need to create a stronghold.'

In the Thick of It at Heart

By his own confession, Fuchs likes a challenge. {'What’s so bad with that?' He ended his playing career less than three years ago and, like Tuchel, enjoys being in the middle of the action. {'I’m a component of the group. I’m still a player in here,' he says, pointing to his chest. {'At training I’m always joining in in the drills – two megs 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 one team, we’re working on this together.'