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'I reckon that the odds of us turning the season around are less than Leicester winning the Premier League, so they are in our favor, right?' The Austrian veteran is discussing his recent venture as manager of the Football League's bottom club, and the daunting task of preventing a drop into non-league football. It is a challenge at the polar opposite of the scale, though that unbelievable title win in 2016 gave him a great deal more than a champion's gong. {'It assisted in altering my perspective a little bit ... it showed that the unattainable can be achievable,' he notes.

The Unlikely Path to Rodney Parade

The obvious place to start is: what was the journey that led Fuchs find himself here? 'That's the part of the story that defies logic, wouldn't you say?' he says, breaking into laughter. This serves as the 39-year-old's introductory line and a clear indication of his playful character across a colourful conversation. Discourse travels in multiple pathways, from being managed by Thomas Tuchel and Brendan Rodgers to the urgent quest to find a local barber.

He sorts through some post on his desk. Included is a note from a Leicester supporter sending best wishes, accompanied by a couple of shiny pictures from that memorable year. {'Young Fuchs,' he says, smiling. Another delivery brings a hoard of old Panini stickers, one from an album marking Euro 2016, when he captained Austria. A card from the Newport Supporters’ Club is displayed prominently. 'Stuff like this really makes me very pleased,' he adds.

A Past Trip and a Misspelt Name

Until his move back from North Carolina to take on his first job in frontline management last month, Fuchs’s previous visit to Rodney Parade was in January 2019, when Leicester suffered a Newport cupset in the FA Cup third round. On that occasion David Pipe duelled against Fuchs. {'He had the game of his career,' Fuchs recalls. But when the teamsheets came out, an curious error was discovered. {'You need to censor this,' Fuchs remarks. 'They got wrong my name – somehow a 'k' crept in in place of the 'h'. It is hilarious because Fuchs, in German, means fox, so it’s something nice.'

Insights from Claudio, Rodgers and Tuchel

His decision to join the Foxes in the summer of 2015 turned out to be inspired. A couple of weeks later Leicester appointed Claudio Ranieri and the rest is history. The Italian joined the club in the middle of a pre-season camp in Austria and his hands-off approach did the trick. {'When you look at Claudio you imagine an older man, 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 watch 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 change anything.''

Fuchs holds dear insights gained 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 psychologically?’’ Fuchs says of Tuchel. {'That’s a major part of our methodology as well. How can you make good thinkers on the pitch? Back then he was probably in a analogous place to where I am now … very motivated, very eager to prove himself.'

Roots and a Resolute Nature

Fuchs’s drive originates in his upbringing in Neunkirchen. {'There are similarities to where we are now, because I was told when I was 11 years old that I would never be good enough,' he shares. {'There are people who let that overcome them or there are people who say: ‘Watch me, 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 demonstrate that I can and put in the hard yards. The other thing about my make-up is: I’m quite stubborn. If I see potential, I’m doing 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 fires up his laptop to show statistics from a recent 2-2 draw, sharing a slide he presented to his players. {'The team hit many, many season bests,' he says, emphasizing ball progression and statistics about breaking defensive lines. Passing accuracy was shown as 87%. {'Not happy with that … that needs to be in the mid-90s,' he declares. {'My first game, it was very physical, 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 broader numbers make bleak reading. Newport have won 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 secured three points 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 secured a precious point. {'We need to be a power at home,' Fuchs emphasizes. {'It’s just not satisfactory, not even having a win. We need to construct a fortress.'

Still a Player at Heart

By his own acknowledgement, Fuchs enjoys a challenge. {'What’s so negative with that?' He ended his playing career less than three years ago and, like Tuchel, likes being in the middle of the action. {'I’m a member of the group. I’m still a player in here,' he remarks, tapping his chest. {'At training I’m always participating in the small-sided games – two pannas already, get in! I want us to regard each other as a single unit. Yes, you’re the ones on the field, but we’re all in this together, we’re striving towards this collectively.'