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'I estimate that the odds of us reviving our campaign are lower than Leicester lifting the Premier League, so they are in our favour, right?' The Austrian veteran is reflecting on his new life as head coach of the League Two strugglers, and the monumental task of staving off a descent into non-league football. It is a challenge at the complete other end of the scale, though that unbelievable title win in 2016 furnished him a great deal more than a winner's medal. {'It contributed to shifting my mindset a little bit ... it showed that the impossible can be attainable,' he notes.

'How Did Fuchs Wind Up Here?'

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 states, breaking into a laugh. This serves as the 39-year-old's opening gambit and a clear demonstration of his playful character across a wide-ranging conversation. Our talk runs in multiple pathways, from playing for the current England boss and the former Leicester manager to the urgent quest to find a nearby hairdresser.

He looks at some post on his desk. Among it is a note from a Leicester supporter sending best wishes, paired with a couple of shiny pictures from that memorable year. {'Young Fuchs,' he says, with a smile. Another package brings a collection of old Panini stickers, one from an album commemorating Euro 2016, when he skippered Austria. A note from the Newport Supporters’ Club is displayed prominently. Items like this genuinely makes me very content,' he concludes.

A Previous Visit and a Typographical Error

Until his move back from North Carolina to accept his first job in first-team coaching last month, Fuchs’s last trip to Rodney Parade was in January 2019, when Leicester suffered a Newport shock defeat in the FA Cup third round. That day the Newport kit man faced off against Fuchs. {'He had the match of his life,' Fuchs says. But when the teamsheets were released, an amusing error was discovered. {'You need to redact this,' Fuchs jokes. '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 pleasant.'

Lessons from The Tinkerman, Rodgers and Tuchel

His choice to join the Foxes in the summer of 2015 was brilliant. A couple of weeks later Leicester appointed Claudio Ranieri and the rest is history. The Italian arrived at the club in the middle of a pre-season camp in Austria and his hands-off approach worked wonders. {'When you look at Claudio you imagine an elder gentleman, so long in the business, maybe a bit set in his ways, but he’s the complete opposite,' 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 studied you for a week and I’m not going to alter 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 push them psychologically?’’ Fuchs says of Tuchel. {'That’s a major part of our approach 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.'

Roots and a Stubborn Mindset

Fuchs’s motivation originates in his childhood 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 discloses. {'There are people who let that get the better of 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 show that I can and put in the hard yards. The other thing about my personality is: I’m quite headstrong. If I see potential, I’m going for it.'

Detailed 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 boots up his laptop to show statistics from a recent 2-2 draw, sharing a slide he presented to his players. {'The team hit many, many season peaks,' he explains, noting ball progression and statistics about breaking 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 direct, League Two football, but we want to be different. I think a five-yard pass has a higher chance to arrive than just launching it all the time.'

The overarching numbers paint grim reading. Newport have secured 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 power 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 confession, Fuchs enjoys a challenge. {'What’s so negative 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 at heart,' he states, indicating his chest. {'At training I’m always joining in in the drills – two megs already, yes! I want us to regard each other as a single unit. Yes, you’re the ones on the field, but we’re a collective, we’re working on this collectively.'