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'The probability of a late surge is arguably a longer shot than that historic 5,000-1 title, which strangely puts the odds in our favour.' The Austrian veteran is reflecting on his fresh chapter as boss of the League Two strugglers, and the immense task of preventing a fall 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 winner's medal. {'It helped change my perspective a little bit ... it proved that the impossible can be attainable,' he remarks.

The Unlikely Path to Rodney Parade

The logical place to start is: what brought Fuchs end up here? 'I suppose that's the part that's illogical, right?' he states, erupting in laughter. It is the 39-year-old's initial statement and a clear sign of his engaging character across a wide-ranging conversation. Discourse travels in multiple pathways, from working under the current England boss and Brendan Rodgers to the pressing need to find a barber in the area.

He sorts through some mail on his desk. Included is a message from a Leicester supporter wishing him well, along with a couple of glossy photos from that campaign. {'Young Fuchs,' he remarks, smiling. Another package brings a hoard of old stickers, one from an album commemorating Euro 2016, when he led Austria. A note from the Newport Supporters’ Club has pride of place. Things like this genuinely makes me very content,' he adds.

A Past Trip and a Misspelt Name

Prior to his move back from North Carolina to assume his first job in frontline management 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 David Pipe faced off against Fuchs. {'He had the game of his life,' Fuchs says. But when the official sheets dropped, an curious error came to light. {'You need to edit this,' Fuchs jokes. 'They misspelt my name – somehow a 'k' smuggled itself in in place of the 'h'. It is amusing because Fuchs, in German, means fox, so it’s something nice.'

Lessons from Ranieri, Rodgers and Tuchel

His choice to join the Foxes in the summer of 2015 proved inspired. A couple of weeks later Leicester hired Claudio Ranieri and an iconic story unfolded. The Italian joined the club in the middle of a pre-season camp in Austria and his observational approach did the trick. {'When you observe Claudio you picture an older man, so experienced in the game, maybe a bit traditional, but he’s so not,' Fuchs states. {'He just said he was going to watch 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 alter anything.''

Fuchs holds dear lessons learned from Rodgers and Tuchel, under whom he worked while on loan at Mainz. {'He always thought: ‘How can I get more out of the players? How can I push them mentally?’’ Fuchs says of Tuchel. {'That’s a major part of our philosophy as well. How can you make good players who choose wisely? Back then he was probably in a comparable position to where I am now … very driven, very keen to prove himself.'

Background and a Resolute Character

Fuchs’s determination originates in his childhood in Neunkirchen. {'There are similarities 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 defeat them or there are people who say: ‘Forget you, I’m going to show you.’ I’ve been told too many times: ‘You cannot do this, you can't do that.’ I’m going to show that I can and work my socks off. The other thing about my character is: I’m pretty determined. If I see promise, I’m going for it.'

Data-Driven 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 opens his laptop to show analytics from a recent 2-2 draw, sharing a slide he showed his players. {'The team hit many, many season peaks,' he points out, emphasizing ball progression and statistics about getting behind defensive lines. Passing accuracy was shown as 87%. {'Not pleased with that … that needs to be in the 90-95% range,' he states. {'My first game, it was very physical, lower-league football, but we want to be different. I think a five-yard pass has a higher percentage to arrive than just launching it all the time.'

The broader numbers present grim 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 tasted victory 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 precious point. {'We need to be a force at home,' Fuchs emphasizes. {'It’s just not good enough, not even having a win. We need to create a fortress.'

One of the Lads 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 part of the group. I’m still a player in here,' he states, tapping his chest. {'At training I’m always getting involved in the drills – two megs already, yes! I want us to view each other as a single unit. Yes, you’re the ones on the field, but we’re one team, we’re striving towards this collectively.'