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'The prospect of a dramatic turnaround is arguably more remote than that fabled 5,000-1 title, which somehow puts the odds in our favor.' The Austrian veteran is reflecting on his recent venture as boss of the Football League's bottom club, and the daunting task of averting a fall into non-league football. Here lies a challenge at the complete other end of the scale, though that unbelievable title win in 2016 gave him a great deal more than a Premier League trophy. {'It assisted in altering my mindset a little bit ... it demonstrated that the unattainable can be attainable,' he notes.

The Unlikely Path to Rodney Parade

The natural place to start is: what brought Fuchs find himself here? 'That's the element of the story that defies logic, wouldn't you say?' he comments, letting out a chuckle. This remark acts as the 39-year-old's introductory line and a clear indication of his engaging character across a wide-ranging conversation. Discourse travels in different directions, from being managed by Thomas Tuchel and Brendan Rodgers to the pressing need to find a nearby hairdresser.

He looks at some mail on his desk. There is a message from a Leicester supporter wishing him well, accompanied by a couple of professional photographs from that memorable year. {'Young Fuchs,' he says, grinning. Another delivery brings a collection of old collector's items, one from an album celebrating Euro 2016, when he led Austria. A note from the Newport Supporters’ Club is displayed prominently. 'Stuff like this really makes me very pleased,' he concludes.

A Prior Encounter and a Funny Mistake

Prior to coming back from North Carolina to take on his first job in frontline management last month, Fuchs’s most recent encounter to Rodney Parade was in January 2019, when Leicester were on the end of a Newport cupset in the FA Cup third round. On that occasion the Newport kit man faced off against Fuchs. {'He had the game of his career,' Fuchs recalls. But when the official sheets were released, an amusing error came to light. {'You need to edit this,' Fuchs says with a smile. 'They got wrong my name – somehow a 'k' crept in in place of the 'h'. It is amusing because Fuchs, in German, means fox, so it’s something fitting.'

Experiences from Ranieri, Rodgers and Tuchel

His decision 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 arrived at the club in the middle of a pre-season camp in Austria and his hands-off approach produced miracles. {'When you look at Claudio you picture an elder gentleman, so a veteran of the sport, maybe a bit old school, but he’s anything but,' Fuchs states. {'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 studied you for a week and I’m not going to alter anything.''

Fuchs values lessons learned from Rodgers and Tuchel, under whom he worked while on loan at Mainz. {'He always considered: ‘How can I get additional out of the players? How can I test them mentally?’’ Fuchs says of Tuchel. {'That’s a significant part of our philosophy as well. How can you make good decision-makers? Back then he was probably in a analogous place to where I am now … very motivated, very eager to prove himself.'

Background and a Determined 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 good 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 cannot do this, you can not do that.’ I’m going to prove that I can and work my socks off. The other thing about my character is: I’m very determined. If I see possibility, I’m going for it.'

Data-Driven Approach and the Struggle 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 analytics from a recent 2-2 draw, presenting a slide he used with his players. {'The team hit many, many season bests,' he explains, emphasizing ball progression and statistics about getting behind defensive lines. Passing accuracy was recorded at 87%. {'Not happy with that … that needs to be in the 90-95% range,' he insists. {'My first game, it was very direct, lower-league football, but we want to be distinct. I think a five-yard pass has a higher percentage to arrive than just hoofing it all the time.'

The overarching numbers paint bleak 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 last-gasp equaliser with 10 men garnered a precious point. {'We need to be a force at home,' Fuchs stresses. {'It’s just not acceptable, not even having a win. We need to create a stronghold.'

One of the Lads at Heart

By his own acknowledgement, Fuchs relishes a challenge. {'What’s so negative with that?' He hung up his boots less than three years ago and, like Tuchel, likes being in the thick of things. {'I’m a member of the group. I’m still a player in here,' he states, indicating his chest. {'At training I’m always getting involved in the small-sided games – two nutmegs already, get in! I want us to view each other as one team. Yes, you’re the ones on the field, but we’re a collective, we’re working on this as one.'