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'The prospect of a dramatic turnaround is arguably less likely than that historic 5,000-1 title, which strangely puts the odds in our favor.' The Austrian veteran is reflecting on his fresh chapter as head coach of the League Two strugglers, and the daunting task of preventing a fall into non-league football. Here lies a challenge at the complete other end of the scale, though that fairytale title win in 2016 provided him with a great deal more than a winner's medal. {'It assisted in altering my perspective a little bit ... it showed that the unthinkable can be achievable,' he remarks.

'How Did Fuchs Find Himself Here?'

The obvious place to start is: what brought Fuchs find himself here? 'I imagine that's the part that's unpredictable, right?' he says, breaking into a chuckle. This serves as the 39-year-old's initial statement and a clear sign of his engaging character across a wide-ranging conversation. Discourse runs in various tangents, from playing for the current England boss and the former Leicester manager to the pressing need to find a local barber.

He opens some post on his desk. There is a message from a Leicester supporter wishing him well, accompanied by a couple of glossy photos from that memorable year. {'Young Fuchs,' he remarks, with a smile. Another delivery brings a collection of old collector's items, one from an album commemorating Euro 2016, when he skippered Austria. A note from the Newport Supporters’ Club is given special attention. 'Stuff like this really makes me very happy,' he adds.

A Past Trip and a Typographical Error

Prior to his move 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 endured a Newport shock defeat in the FA Cup third round. On that occasion the Newport kit man faced off against Fuchs. {'He had the performance of his career,' Fuchs says. But when the lineup cards dropped, an curious error was discovered. {'You need to edit this,' Fuchs jokes. '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 fitting.'

Experiences from Claudio, Rodgers and Tuchel

His move to join the Foxes in the summer of 2015 proved a masterstroke. A couple of weeks later Leicester brought in Claudio Ranieri and the rest is history. The Italian joined the club in the midst of a pre-season camp in Austria and his observational approach did the trick. {'When you see Claudio you imagine an elder gentleman, so a veteran of the sport, maybe a bit set in his ways, but he’s so not,' Fuchs says. {'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 watched 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 thought: ‘How can I get extra 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 players who choose wisely? Back then he was probably in a analogous place to where I am now … very focused, very keen to prove himself.'

Background and a Determined Mindset

Fuchs’s drive stems from his childhood in Neunkirchen. {'There are parallels 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 overcome them or there are people who say: ‘Watch me, I’m going to show you.’ I’ve been told too many times: ‘You can't 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 make-up is: I’m quite headstrong. If I see promise, I’m making it happen.'

Detailed Approach and the Battle for Survival

Fuchs’s assistant, Mark Smith, was born in Newport and formerly ran Fuchs’s Fox Soccer Academy. Fuchs opens his laptop to show data from a recent 2-2 draw, displaying a slide he showed his players. {'The team hit many, many season bests,' he explains, highlighting ball progression and statistics about penetrating defensive lines. Passing accuracy was shown as 87%. {'Not satisfied with that … that needs to be in the 90-95% range,' he insists. {'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 going long all the time.'

The overarching numbers make grim 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 injury-time equaliser with 10 men garnered a precious point. {'We need to be a dominant side at home,' Fuchs emphasizes. {'It’s just not acceptable, not even having a win. We need to create a stronghold.'

Still a Player at Heart

By his own acknowledgement, Fuchs relishes 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 thick of things. {'I’m a member of the group. I’m still a player in here,' he remarks, 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 one team, we’re working on this together.'