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'The prospect of a dramatic turnaround is arguably less likely than that fabled 5,000-1 title, which strangely puts the odds in our favor.' The Austrian veteran is talking about his recent venture as manager of the Football League's bottom club, and the daunting task of staving off a descent into non-league football. This represents a challenge at the polar opposite of the scale, though that unbelievable title win in 2016 gave him far more than a winner's medal. {'It assisted in altering my outlook a little bit ... it showed that the impossible can be achievable,' he remarks.

The Unlikely Path to Rodney Parade

The natural place to start is: what was the journey that led Fuchs end up here? 'That's the part of the story that defies logic, wouldn't you say?' he says, erupting in a chuckle. This serves as the 39-year-old's initial statement and a clear indication of his engaging character across a wide-ranging conversation. Our talk runs in various tangents, from being managed by Thomas Tuchel and the former Leicester manager to the pressing need to find a nearby hairdresser.

He opens some mail on his desk. There is a letter from a Leicester supporter wishing him well, accompanied by a couple of shiny pictures from that season. {'Young Fuchs,' he remarks, smiling. Another package brings a stash of old stickers, one from an album celebrating Euro 2016, when he skippered Austria. A greeting from the Newport Supporters’ Club is given special attention. 'Stuff like this genuinely makes me very pleased,' he concludes.

A Prior Encounter and a Typographical Error

Until his move back from North Carolina to assume his first job in first-team coaching last month, Fuchs’s last trip to Rodney Parade was in January 2019, when Leicester were on the end of a Newport giantkilling in the FA Cup third round. That day the Newport kit man competed with Fuchs. {'He had the game of his life,' Fuchs recalls. But when the lineup cards came out, an interesting error came to light. {'You need to edit this,' Fuchs remarks. 'They got wrong my name – somehow a 'k' smuggled itself in in place of the 'h'. It is funny because Fuchs, in German, means fox, so it’s something nice.'

Experiences from Claudio, Rodgers and Tuchel

His decision to join the Foxes in the summer of 2015 turned out to be brilliant. A couple of weeks later Leicester appointed 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 observational approach produced miracles. {'When you look at Claudio you picture an older man, so a veteran of the sport, maybe a bit set in his ways, but he’s so not,' Fuchs states. {'He just said he was going to observe 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 holds dear experiences 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 challenge them mentally?’’ Fuchs says of Tuchel. {'That’s a big part of our approach as well. How can you make good decision-makers? Back then he was probably in a analogous place to where I am now … very driven, very eager to prove himself.'

Background and a Determined Mindset

Fuchs’s determination 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 capable enough,' he shares. {'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'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 very stubborn. If I see potential, I’m making it happen.'

Data-Driven Approach and the Struggle for Survival

Fuchs’s assistant, Mark Smith, was born in Newport and had been in charge of Fuchs’s Fox Soccer Academy. Fuchs fires up his laptop to show statistics from a recent 2-2 draw, presenting a slide he showed his players. {'The team hit many, many season highs,' he points out, highlighting ball progression and statistics about getting behind defensive lines. Passing accuracy was recorded at 87%. {'Not satisfied 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 different. I think a five-yard pass has a higher chance to find its target than just launching it all the time.'

The broader numbers make sobering reading. Newport have managed 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 power at home,' Fuchs emphasizes. {'It’s just not acceptable, not even having a win. We need to create a impenetrable home.'

In the Thick of It at Heart

By his own acknowledgement, Fuchs enjoys a challenge. {'What’s so negative with that?' He retired less than three years ago and, like Tuchel, enjoys being in the thick of things. {'I’m a component of the group. I’m still a player inside,' he states, pointing to his chest. {'At training I’m always joining in in the boxes – two pannas already, get in! I want us to regard each other as one team. Yes, you’re the ones on the field, but we’re a collective, we’re working on this collectively.'