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'I reckon that the chances of us transforming our fortunes are lower than Leicester claiming the Premier League, so they are in our favour, right?' The Austrian veteran is reflecting on his recent venture as head coach of Newport County, and the monumental task of averting a fall into non-league football. This represents a challenge at the complete other end of the spectrum, though that fairytale title win in 2016 gave him much more than a winner's medal. {'It contributed to shifting my mindset a little bit ... it proved that the unthinkable can be attainable,' he remarks.

'How Did Fuchs Wind Up Here?'

The logical place to start is: what was the journey that led Fuchs end up here? 'That's the element of the story that defies logic, wouldn't you say?' he comments, letting out laughter. This remark acts as the 39-year-old's initial statement and a clear sign of his engaging character across a colourful conversation. The discussion flows in various tangents, from playing for the current England boss and Brendan Rodgers to the urgent quest to find a local barber.

He sorts through some post on his desk. There is a letter from a Leicester supporter sending best wishes, paired with a couple of glossy photos from that campaign. {'Young Fuchs,' he muses, with a smile. Another envelope brings a collection of old collector's items, one from an album marking Euro 2016, when he led Austria. A note from the Newport Supporters’ Club is displayed prominently. 'Stuff like this genuinely makes me very content,' he adds.

A Prior Encounter and a Typographical Error

Prior to returning from North Carolina to take on his first job in senior management last month, Fuchs’s most recent encounter to Rodney Parade was in January 2019, when Leicester endured a Newport cupset in the FA Cup third round. On that occasion David Pipe competed with Fuchs. {'He had the match of his life,' Fuchs admits. But when the teamsheets were released, an interesting error emerged. {'You need to censor this,' Fuchs remarks. 'They misspelt my name – somehow a 'k' crept in in place of the 'h'. It is funny because Fuchs, in German, means fox, so it’s something fitting.'

Lessons from Ranieri, Rodgers and Tuchel

His choice to join the Foxes in the summer of 2015 turned out to be brilliant. A couple of weeks later Leicester hired Claudio Ranieri and an iconic story unfolded. The Italian joined the club in the heart of a pre-season camp in Austria and his light-touch approach worked wonders. {'When you look at Claudio you imagine an elder gentleman, so a veteran of the sport, maybe a bit old school, but he’s so not,' Fuchs says. {'He just said he was going to monitor 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 change anything.''

Fuchs cherishes lessons learned 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 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 focused, very anxious to prove himself.'

Roots and a Stubborn Character

Fuchs’s motivation stems from his early years in Neunkirchen. {'There are comparisons 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 get the better of 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 can't do that.’ I’m going to demonstrate that I can and put in the hard yards. The other thing about my personality is: I’m quite stubborn. If I see potential, I’m making it happen.'

Detailed 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 data from a recent 2-2 draw, displaying a slide he showed his players. {'The team hit many, many season peaks,' he points out, emphasizing ball progression and statistics about penetrating defensive lines. Passing accuracy was logged at 87%. {'Not happy with that … that needs to be in the mid-90s,' he declares. {'My first game, it was very physical, fourth-tier football, but we want to be unique. I think a five-yard pass has a higher chance to be successful than just hoofing it all the time.'

The general numbers paint sobering reading. Newport have managed 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 garnered a crucial point. {'We need to be a dominant side at home,' Fuchs stresses. {'It’s just not good enough, not even having a win. We need to construct a stronghold.'

In the Thick of It at Heart

By his own admission, Fuchs enjoys a challenge. {'What’s so bad with that?' He ended his playing career less than three years ago and, like Tuchel, loves being in the heart of the battle. {'I’m a member of the group. I’m still a player in here,' he says, indicating his chest. {'At training I’m always participating in the boxes – two pannas already, yes! I want us to view each other as one team. Yes, you’re the ones on the field, but we’re all in this together, we’re tackling this collectively.'