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'I reckon that the likelihood of us transforming our fortunes are slimmer than Leicester winning the Premier League, so they are in our benefit, right?' The Austrian veteran is reflecting on his recent venture as boss of the Football League's bottom club, and the daunting task of averting a descent into non-league football. Here lies a challenge at the complete other end of the spectrum of success, though that fairytale title win in 2016 furnished him a great deal more than a Premier League trophy. {'It contributed to shifting my mindset a little bit ... it showed that the impossible can be attainable,' he states.

'How Did Fuchs Wind Up Here?'

The obvious place to start is: what brought Fuchs end up here? 'I guess that's the part that's illogical, right?' he says, breaking into laughter. This serves as the 39-year-old's introductory line and a clear indication of his charismatic character across a wide-ranging conversation. The discussion travels in multiple pathways, from working under Thomas Tuchel and the former Leicester manager to the urgent quest to find a nearby hairdresser.

He looks at some mail on his desk. There is a note from a Leicester supporter offering encouragement, along with a couple of shiny pictures from that memorable year. {'Young Fuchs,' he says, grinning. Another envelope brings a collection of old collector's items, one from an album marking Euro 2016, when he led Austria. A greeting from the Newport Supporters’ Club is given special attention. Things like this really makes me very content,' he states.

A Previous Visit and a Misspelt Name

Prior to coming back from North Carolina to take on 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. On that occasion a former full-back duelled against Fuchs. {'He had the performance of his life,' Fuchs says. But when the official sheets were released, an interesting error was discovered. {'You need to censor this,' Fuchs says with a smile. 'They got wrong my name – somehow a 'k' smuggled itself in in place of the 'h'. It is funny because Fuchs, in German, means fox, so it’s something nice.'

Experiences from The Tinkerman, Rodgers and Tuchel

His choice 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 joined the club in the midst of a pre-season camp in Austria and his light-touch approach worked wonders. {'When you see Claudio you picture an seasoned professional, so experienced in the game, maybe a bit old school, but he’s anything but,' Fuchs states. {'He just said he was going to monitor 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 studied you for a week and I’m not going to change 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 more 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 analogous place to where I am now … very focused, very eager to prove himself.'

Origins and a Determined Nature

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 good enough,' he discloses. {'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 show that I can and give absolutely everything. The other thing about my personality is: I’m quite headstrong. If I see promise, I’m going for it.'

Data-Driven Approach and the Battle for Survival

Fuchs’s assistant, Mark Smith, was born in Newport and previously led Fuchs’s Fox Soccer Academy. Fuchs boots up his laptop to show analytics 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 getting behind defensive lines. Passing accuracy was logged at 87%. {'Not pleased with that … that needs to be in the mid-90s,' he states. {'My first game, it was very direct, fourth-tier football, but we want to be different. I think a five-yard pass has a higher percentage to be successful than just launching it all the time.'

The overarching numbers present sobering 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 injury-time equaliser with 10 men garnered a precious point. {'We need to be a force at home,' Fuchs stresses. {'It’s just not satisfactory, not even having a win. We need to build a fortress.'

In the Thick of It at Heart

By his own acknowledgement, Fuchs relishes a challenge. {'What’s so bad with that?' He ended his playing career less than three years ago and, like Tuchel, likes being in the heart of the battle. {'I’m a component of the group. I’m still a player at heart,' he states, indicating his chest. {'At training I’m always joining in in the boxes – two megs already, yes! I want us to regard each other as one team. Yes, you’re the ones on the field, but we’re all in this together, we’re tackling this as one.'