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'I reckon that the likelihood of us turning the season around are slimmer than Leicester lifting the Premier League, so they are in our favor, right?' The Austrian veteran is discussing his new life as boss of the Football League's bottom club, and the daunting task of preventing a descent into non-league football. Here lies a challenge at the complete other end of the scale, though that fairytale title win in 2016 furnished him far more than a winner's medal. {'It assisted in altering my outlook a little bit ... it proved that the unthinkable can be attainable,' he notes.

'How Did Fuchs End Up Here?'

The obvious place to start is: how did Fuchs find himself here? 'I imagine that's the part that's unpredictable, right?' he comments, letting out laughter. It is the 39-year-old's opening gambit and a clear demonstration of his playful character across a wide-ranging conversation. Discourse runs in multiple pathways, from working under Thomas Tuchel and the former Leicester manager to the urgent quest to find a local barber.

He opens some mail on his desk. Included is a message from a Leicester supporter wishing him well, along with a couple of professional photographs from that memorable year. {'Young Fuchs,' he muses, with a smile. Another envelope brings a hoard of old stickers, one from an album celebrating Euro 2016, when he skippered Austria. A card from the Newport Supporters’ Club is given special attention. 'Stuff like this makes me very pleased,' he adds.

A Prior Encounter and a Misspelt Name

Until coming back from North Carolina to take on his first job in first-team coaching last month, Fuchs’s last trip to Rodney Parade was in January 2019, when Leicester endured a Newport giantkilling in the FA Cup third round. On that occasion the Newport kit man duelled against Fuchs. {'He had the game of his career,' Fuchs recalls. But when the lineup cards came out, an amusing error came to light. {'You need to redact this,' Fuchs remarks. 'They got wrong 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.'

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 hired Claudio Ranieri and the rest is history. The Italian joined the club in the heart of a pre-season camp in Austria and his observational approach produced miracles. {'When you see Claudio you picture an elder gentleman, so a veteran of the sport, maybe a bit old school, but he’s anything but,' Fuchs says. {'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 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 extra out of the players? How can I push them psychologically?’’ Fuchs says of Tuchel. {'That’s a significant part of our philosophy as well. How can you make good players who choose wisely? 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 Character

Fuchs’s determination 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 capable enough,' he discloses. {'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 cannot do that.’ I’m going to show that I can and give absolutely everything. The other thing about my personality is: I’m pretty stubborn. If I see potential, I’m going for it.'

Data-Driven Approach and the Struggle 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 statistics from a recent 2-2 draw, presenting a slide he presented to his players. {'The team hit several season highs,' he says, highlighting ball progression and statistics about penetrating defensive lines. Passing accuracy was recorded at 87%. {'Not pleased with that … that needs to be in the 90-95% range,' he insists. {'My first game, it was very physical, League Two football, but we want to be unique. 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 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 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 crucial 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 stronghold.'

Still a Player at Heart

By his own acknowledgement, Fuchs likes a challenge. {'What’s so negative with that?' He ended his playing career less than three years ago and, like Tuchel, loves being in the thick of things. {'I’m a member of the group. I’m still a player at heart,' he says, pointing to his chest. {'At training I’m always joining in in the drills – two pannas already, get in! I want us to view each other as a single unit. Yes, you’re the ones on the field, but we’re one team, we’re working on this collectively.'