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'I reckon that the chances of us transforming our fortunes are less than Leicester lifting the Premier League, so they are in our benefit, right?' The Austrian veteran is talking about his recent venture as head coach of the Football League's bottom club, and the immense task of preventing a fall into non-league football. It is a challenge at the polar opposite of the spectrum of success, though that fairytale title win in 2016 furnished him much more than a champion's gong. {'It assisted in altering my outlook a little bit ... it proved that the impossible can be possible,' he remarks.

'How Did Fuchs Find Himself Here?'

The obvious place to start is: what brought Fuchs end up here? 'I suppose that's the part that's illogical, right?' he states, letting out a laugh. It is the 39-year-old's introductory line and a clear sign of his charismatic character across a wide-ranging conversation. The discussion runs in various tangents, from playing for the current England boss and Brendan Rodgers to the pressing need to find a local barber.

He sorts through some post on his desk. There is a message from a Leicester supporter sending best wishes, paired with a couple of glossy photos from that campaign. {'Young Fuchs,' he muses, with a smile. Another delivery brings a hoard of old collector's items, one from an album celebrating Euro 2016, when he captained Austria. A greeting from the Newport Supporters’ Club is displayed prominently. Things like this genuinely makes me very pleased,' he states.

A Prior Encounter and a Typographical Error

Until returning 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 suffered a Newport giantkilling in the FA Cup third round. During that match a former full-back duelled against Fuchs. {'He had the game of his career,' Fuchs admits. But when the official sheets dropped, an interesting error emerged. {'You need to edit this,' Fuchs jokes. 'They got wrong my name – somehow a 'k' found its way in in place of the 'h'. It is hilarious because Fuchs, in German, means fox, so it’s something pleasant.'

Insights from The Tinkerman, Rodgers and Tuchel

His move to join the Foxes in the summer of 2015 turned out to be inspired. A couple of weeks later Leicester brought in Claudio Ranieri and what followed is legendary. The Italian arrived at the club in the midst of a pre-season camp in Austria and his light-touch approach produced miracles. {'When you observe Claudio you picture an elder gentleman, so experienced in the game, maybe a bit traditional, but he’s the complete opposite,' Fuchs explains. {'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 watched 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 extra out of the players? How can I challenge them psychologically?’’ Fuchs says of Tuchel. {'That’s a big 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 anxious to prove himself.'

Background and a Resolute Nature

Fuchs’s motivation stems from his upbringing 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 capable enough,' he discloses. {'There are people who let that get the better of them or there are people who say: ‘Fuchs 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 prove that I can and work my socks off. The other thing about my personality is: I’m quite headstrong. If I see possibility, I’m making it happen.'

Detailed Approach and the Battle for Survival

Fuchs’s assistant, Mark Smith, was born in Newport and formerly ran Fuchs’s Fox Soccer Academy. Fuchs boots up his laptop to show data from a recent 2-2 draw, sharing a slide he showed his players. {'The team hit several season peaks,' he points out, emphasizing ball progression and statistics about penetrating defensive lines. Passing accuracy was logged at 87%. {'Not satisfied with that … that needs to be in the mid-90s,' he states. {'My first game, it was very direct, lower-league football, but we want to be unique. I think a five-yard pass has a higher percentage to be successful than just going long all the time.'

The broader numbers paint bleak reading. Newport have managed 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 last-gasp equaliser with 10 men secured a crucial point. {'We need to be a force at home,' Fuchs says. {'It’s just not acceptable, not even having a win. We need to create a fortress.'

In the Thick of It at Heart

By his own confession, Fuchs likes a challenge. {'What’s so wrong with that?' He retired less than three years ago and, like Tuchel, likes being in the middle of the action. {'I’m a component of the group. I’m still a player inside,' he remarks, tapping his chest. {'At training I’m always participating in the drills – two megs already, brilliant! I want us to see each other as a unified group. Yes, you’re the ones on the field, but we’re a collective, we’re striving towards this together.'