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'I estimate that the chances of us transforming our fortunes are slimmer than Leicester claiming the Premier League, so they are in our favour, right?' The Austrian veteran is talking about his fresh chapter as manager of the League Two strugglers, and the monumental task of averting a descent into non-league football. Here lies a challenge at the polar opposite of the scale, though that miraculous title win in 2016 gave him a great deal more than a Premier League trophy. {'It helped change my mindset a little bit ... it proved that the unattainable can be possible,' he remarks.

The Illogical Path to Rodney Parade

The natural place to start is: what brought Fuchs wind up here? 'I imagine that's the part that's unpredictable, right?' he states, breaking into a chuckle. This serves as the 39-year-old's opening gambit and a clear indication of his charismatic character across a colourful conversation. Discourse flows in multiple pathways, from being managed by Thomas Tuchel and the former Leicester manager to the immediate requirement to find a local barber.

He opens 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 season. {'Young Fuchs,' he muses, smiling. Another delivery brings a stash of old collector's items, one from an album marking Euro 2016, when he skippered Austria. A note from the Newport Supporters’ Club has pride of place. Items like this genuinely makes me very happy,' he states.

A Prior Encounter and a Typographical Error

Until coming back from North Carolina to assume his first job in frontline management last month, Fuchs’s previous visit to Rodney Parade was in January 2019, when Leicester suffered a Newport shock defeat in the FA Cup third round. On that occasion the Newport kit man duelled against Fuchs. {'He had the game of his life,' Fuchs says. But when the official sheets dropped, an amusing error came to light. {'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.'

Lessons 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 what followed is legendary. The Italian came to the club in the middle of a pre-season camp in Austria and his observational approach produced miracles. {'When you observe Claudio you picture an elder gentleman, so a veteran of the sport, maybe a bit traditional, but he’s so not,' Fuchs explains. {'He just said he was going to monitor 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 watched you for a week and I’m not going to change anything.''

Fuchs values experiences 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 test them psychologically?’’ Fuchs says of Tuchel. {'That’s a big part of our philosophy as well. How can you make good decision-makers? Back then he was probably in a comparable position to where I am now … very focused, very keen to prove himself.'

Background and a Stubborn Nature

Fuchs’s determination stems from his early years 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 discloses. {'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 prove that I can and put in the hard yards. The other thing about my character is: I’m pretty determined. If I see possibility, I’m making it happen.'

Analytical Approach and the Battle 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 data from a recent 2-2 draw, displaying a slide he showed his players. {'The team hit many, many season bests,' he says, noting 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 long-ball, fourth-tier football, but we want to be distinct. I think a five-yard pass has a higher percentage to arrive than just going long all the time.'

The general numbers paint sobering 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 won a game 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 earned a crucial point. {'We need to be a power 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 relishes a challenge. {'What’s so wrong with that?' He retired less than three years ago and, like Tuchel, loves being in the heart of the battle. {'I’m a component of the group. I’m still a player at heart,' he remarks, tapping his chest. {'At training I’m always joining in in the drills – two nutmegs 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 tackling this collectively.'