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'The prospect of a late surge is arguably less likely than that fabled 5,000-1 title, which strangely puts the odds in our favour.' The Austrian veteran is talking about his new life as manager 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 polar opposite of the spectrum of success, though that fairytale title win in 2016 gave him a great deal more than a Premier League trophy. {'It contributed to shifting my perspective a little bit ... it showed that the impossible can be achievable,' he states.

The Unlikely Path to Rodney Parade

The natural place to start is: what was the journey that led Fuchs find himself here? 'That's the part of the story that isn't straightforward, wouldn't you say?' he comments, erupting in a laugh. This serves as the 39-year-old's initial statement and a clear indication of his charismatic character across a fascinating conversation. The discussion travels in different directions, from playing for Thomas Tuchel and the former Leicester manager to the pressing need to find a barber in the area.

He looks at some mail on his desk. There is a message from a Leicester supporter offering encouragement, along with a couple of shiny pictures from that memorable year. {'Young Fuchs,' he remarks, smiling. Another package brings a hoard of old Panini stickers, one from an album commemorating Euro 2016, when he skippered Austria. A note from the Newport Supporters’ Club has pride of place. 'Stuff like this genuinely makes me very pleased,' he states.

A Previous Visit and a Typographical Error

Prior to returning 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 suffered a Newport giantkilling in the FA Cup third round. That day David Pipe faced off against Fuchs. {'He had the match of his career,' Fuchs says. But when the official sheets were released, an interesting error emerged. {'You need to censor this,' Fuchs says with a smile. 'They misspelt my name – somehow a 'k' smuggled itself in in place of the 'h'. It is hilarious because Fuchs, in German, means fox, so it’s something nice.'

Experiences from Claudio, Rodgers and Tuchel

His move to join the Foxes in the summer of 2015 proved inspired. A couple of weeks later Leicester brought in Claudio Ranieri and an iconic story unfolded. The Italian joined the club in the midst of a pre-season camp in Austria and his hands-off approach produced miracles. {'When you observe Claudio you picture an older man, so experienced in the game, maybe a bit set in his ways, but he’s so not,' 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 studied you for a week and I’m not going to modify anything.''

Fuchs values insights gained from Rodgers and Tuchel, under whom he worked while on loan at Mainz. {'He always thought: ‘How can I get more out of the players? How can I challenge them mentally?’’ Fuchs says of Tuchel. {'That’s a big part of our methodology as well. How can you make good thinkers on the pitch? Back then he was probably in a comparable position to where I am now … very focused, very keen to prove himself.'

Background and a Determined Nature

Fuchs’s drive 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 skilled 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 not do this, you cannot do that.’ I’m going to show that I can and put in the hard yards. The other thing about my character is: I’m quite headstrong. If I see promise, I’m going for it.'

Detailed Approach and the Fight for Survival

Fuchs’s assistant, Mark Smith, was born in Newport and previously led Fuchs’s Fox Soccer Academy. Fuchs opens his laptop to show data from a recent 2-2 draw, displaying a slide he presented to his players. {'The team hit numerous season bests,' he says, highlighting 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 unique. I think a five-yard pass has a higher percentage to find its target than just hoofing it all the time.'

The overarching numbers paint grim reading. Newport have won three of 19 league matches and are without a victory 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 93rd-minute equaliser with 10 men earned a precious point. {'We need to be a force at home,' Fuchs stresses. {'It’s just not good enough, not even having a win. We need to construct a impenetrable home.'

Still a Player at Heart

By his own acknowledgement, Fuchs likes a challenge. {'What’s so negative with that?' He retired less than three years ago and, like Tuchel, loves being in the middle of the action. {'I’m a part of the group. I’m still a player in here,' he states, pointing to his chest. {'At training I’m always participating in the drills – two megs already, yes! I want us to regard each other as a single unit. Yes, you’re the ones on the field, but we’re one team, we’re striving towards this as one.'