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'I estimate that the likelihood of us transforming our fortunes are slimmer than Leicester winning the Premier League, so they are in our favour, right?' The Austrian veteran is reflecting on his recent venture as boss of the Football League's bottom club, and the daunting task of staving off a drop into non-league football. Here lies a challenge at the complete other end of the scale, though that unbelievable title win in 2016 provided him with far more than a Premier League trophy. {'It contributed to shifting my outlook a little bit ... it showed that the unattainable can be achievable,' he remarks.

'How Did Fuchs Wind Up Here?'

The natural place to start is: how did Fuchs wind up here? 'That's the part of the story that isn't straightforward, wouldn't you say?' he says, letting out a laugh. This remark acts as the 39-year-old's initial statement and a clear sign of his playful character across a fascinating conversation. The discussion flows in multiple pathways, from being managed by Thomas Tuchel and the former Leicester manager to the urgent quest to find a nearby hairdresser.

He looks at some mail on his desk. There is a note from a Leicester supporter offering encouragement, accompanied by a couple of professional photographs from that season. {'Young Fuchs,' he muses, grinning. Another delivery brings a collection of old collector's items, one from an album marking Euro 2016, when he led Austria. A card from the Newport Supporters’ Club is displayed prominently. 'Stuff like this really makes me very content,' he concludes.

A Previous Visit and a Typographical Error

Until his move 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. That day the Newport kit man faced off against Fuchs. {'He had the performance of his life,' Fuchs recalls. But when the teamsheets dropped, an interesting error emerged. {'You need to censor this,' Fuchs remarks. 'They misspelt my name – somehow a 'k' smuggled itself in in place of the 'h'. It is amusing because Fuchs, in German, means fox, so it’s something nice.'

Lessons from Ranieri, Rodgers and Tuchel

His move to join the Foxes in the summer of 2015 was a masterstroke. A couple of weeks later Leicester hired Claudio Ranieri and what followed is legendary. The Italian came to the club in the heart of a pre-season camp in Austria and his light-touch approach did the trick. {'When you observe Claudio you imagine an seasoned professional, so long in the business, maybe a bit traditional, but he’s the complete opposite,' Fuchs says. {'He just said he was going to observe 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 observed you for a week and I’m not going to modify anything.''

Fuchs cherishes 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 challenge them psychologically?’’ Fuchs says of Tuchel. {'That’s a major part of our approach 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 driven, very anxious to prove himself.'

Roots and a Resolute Mindset

Fuchs’s determination originates in his childhood 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 skilled enough,' he shares. {'There are people who let that defeat 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 can not do that.’ I’m going to demonstrate that I can and give absolutely everything. The other thing about my character is: I’m quite stubborn. If I see promise, I’m going for it.'

Data-Driven Approach and the Fight for Survival

Fuchs’s assistant, Mark Smith, was born in Newport and had been in charge of Fuchs’s Fox Soccer Academy. Fuchs opens his laptop to show analytics from a recent 2-2 draw, sharing a slide he used with his players. {'The team hit many, many season bests,' he says, noting ball progression and statistics about penetrating defensive lines. Passing accuracy was recorded at 87%. {'Not pleased with that … that needs to be in the mid-90s,' he insists. {'My first game, it was very long-ball, League Two football, but we want to be distinct. I think a five-yard pass has a higher probability to find its target than just launching it all the time.'

The broader numbers present 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 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 earned a valuable point. {'We need to be a dominant side at home,' Fuchs stresses. {'It’s just not satisfactory, not even having a win. We need to build a fortress.'

In the Thick of It at Heart

By his own acknowledgement, Fuchs likes a challenge. {'What’s so wrong 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 inside,' he says, tapping his chest. {'At training I’m always participating in the small-sided games – two nutmegs already, get in! I want us to regard each other as a unified group. Yes, you’re the ones on the field, but we’re a collective, we’re striving towards this collectively.'