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'I reckon that the odds 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 talking about his new life as manager of Newport County, and the monumental task of averting a descent into non-league football. Here lies a challenge at the complete other end of the spectrum, though that miraculous title win in 2016 provided him with a great deal more than a champion's gong. {'It assisted in altering my mindset a little bit ... it showed that the impossible can be achievable,' he notes.

The Unlikely Path to Rodney Parade

The natural place to start is: what brought Fuchs end up here? 'I guess that's the part that's not logical, right?' he comments, breaking into a chuckle. This serves as the 39-year-old's opening gambit and a clear demonstration of his playful character across a colourful conversation. Discourse flows in multiple pathways, from working under the current England boss and Brendan Rodgers to the pressing need to find a barber in the area.

He opens some correspondence on his desk. There is a message from a Leicester supporter wishing him well, paired with a couple of shiny pictures from that campaign. {'Young Fuchs,' he remarks, smiling. Another delivery brings a stash of old stickers, one from an album celebrating Euro 2016, when he led Austria. A note from the Newport Supporters’ Club has pride of place. 'Stuff like this makes me very happy,' he adds.

A Past Trip and a Funny Mistake

Until coming back from North Carolina to accept his first job in senior management last month, Fuchs’s last trip to Rodney Parade was in January 2019, when Leicester were on the end of a Newport cupset in the FA Cup third round. That day a former full-back duelled against Fuchs. {'He had the game of his life,' Fuchs admits. But when the lineup cards came out, an amusing error emerged. {'You need to redact this,' Fuchs jokes. 'They misspelt 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.'

Experiences from Claudio, Rodgers and Tuchel

His move to join the Foxes in the summer of 2015 proved brilliant. A couple of weeks later Leicester hired 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 observational approach produced miracles. {'When you observe Claudio you imagine an seasoned professional, so long in the business, maybe a bit set in his ways, but he’s anything but,' Fuchs says. {'He just said he was going to watch 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 alter anything.''

Fuchs holds dear 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 push 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 driven, very anxious to prove himself.'

Roots and a Determined Mindset

Fuchs’s drive 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 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 can't do this, you cannot do that.’ I’m going to demonstrate that I can and work my socks off. The other thing about my character is: I’m quite headstrong. If I see possibility, I’m making it happen.'

Detailed Approach and the Struggle 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 analytics from a recent 2-2 draw, presenting a slide he presented to his players. {'The team hit many, many season bests,' he points out, emphasizing 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 physical, lower-league football, but we want to be unique. I think a five-yard pass has a higher chance to be successful than just hoofing it all the time.'

The broader numbers present bleak 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 secured three points at home for 273 days and have kept just two clean sheets in 26 matches this season. But a recent 93rd-minute equaliser with 10 men secured a precious point. {'We need to be a dominant side at home,' Fuchs stresses. {'It’s just not acceptable, not even having a win. We need to build a stronghold.'

Still a Player at Heart

By his own confession, Fuchs relishes a challenge. {'What’s so negative 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 states, tapping his chest. {'At training I’m always participating in the small-sided games – two megs already, yes! I want us to regard each other as a unified group. Yes, you’re the ones on the field, but we’re one team, we’re working on this as one.'