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'I reckon that the odds of us reviving our campaign are lower than Leicester winning the Premier League, so they are in our favour, right?' The Austrian veteran is talking about his fresh chapter as head coach of the Football League's bottom club, and the monumental task of staving off a drop into non-league football. It is a challenge at the complete other end of the spectrum of success, though that unbelievable title win in 2016 furnished him much more than a Premier League trophy. {'It contributed to shifting my mindset a little bit ... it proved that the unthinkable can be achievable,' he remarks.

'How Did Fuchs End Up Here?'

The obvious place to start is: how did Fuchs find himself here? 'I suppose that's the part that's illogical, right?' he says, letting out a laugh. This remark acts as the 39-year-old's opening gambit and a clear sign of his engaging character across a fascinating conversation. The discussion runs in various tangents, from working under the current England boss and the former Leicester manager to the immediate requirement to find a local barber.

He looks at some post on his desk. There is a note from a Leicester supporter sending best wishes, along with a couple of professional photographs from that campaign. {'Young Fuchs,' he says, smiling. Another delivery brings a stash of old Panini stickers, one from an album commemorating Euro 2016, when he led Austria. A greeting from the Newport Supporters’ Club has pride of place. 'Stuff like this really makes me very pleased,' he states.

A Previous Visit and a Funny Mistake

Prior to coming back from North Carolina to assume his first job in senior management last month, Fuchs’s previous visit to Rodney Parade was in January 2019, when Leicester were on the end of a Newport giantkilling in the FA Cup third round. During that match David Pipe faced off against Fuchs. {'He had the game of his career,' Fuchs admits. But when the teamsheets were released, an interesting error was discovered. {'You need to censor this,' Fuchs remarks. 'They got wrong 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 fitting.'

Insights from Claudio, Rodgers and Tuchel

His move to join the Foxes in the summer of 2015 proved inspired. A couple of weeks later Leicester hired Claudio Ranieri and what followed is legendary. The Italian came to the club in the middle of a pre-season camp in Austria and his observational approach did the trick. {'When you observe Claudio you imagine an seasoned professional, so long in the business, maybe a bit old school, but he’s so not,' Fuchs says. {'He just said he was going to watch training in Austria for the first week. He didn’t get involved 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 values insights gained from Rodgers and Tuchel, under whom he worked while on loan at Mainz. {'He always thought: ‘How can I get extra out of the players? How can I test them psychologically?’’ Fuchs says of Tuchel. {'That’s a significant part of our approach as well. How can you make good thinkers on the pitch? Back then he was probably in a similar situation to where I am now … very driven, very eager to prove himself.'

Roots and a Determined Character

Fuchs’s drive stems from 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 reveals. {'There are people who let that defeat them or there are people who say: ‘Fuchs you, 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 personality is: I’m quite headstrong. If I see possibility, I’m going for it.'

Analytical Approach and the Battle 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 data from a recent 2-2 draw, presenting a slide he presented to his players. {'The team hit many, many season peaks,' he says, noting ball progression and statistics about breaking defensive lines. Passing accuracy was logged at 87%. {'Not pleased with that … that needs to be in the mid-90s,' he insists. {'My first game, it was very physical, fourth-tier football, but we want to be distinct. I think a five-yard pass has a higher chance to arrive than just launching it all the time.'

The general numbers make bleak reading. Newport have won 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 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 garnered a valuable point. {'We need to be a power at home,' Fuchs stresses. {'It’s just not acceptable, not even having a win. We need to construct a impenetrable home.'

Still a Player at Heart

By his own confession, Fuchs likes a challenge. {'What’s so negative with that?' He hung up his boots less than three years ago and, like Tuchel, loves being in the heart of the battle. {'I’m a part of the group. I’m still a player inside,' he states, tapping his chest. {'At training I’m always getting involved in the small-sided games – 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 as one.'