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'I would say that the odds of us turning the season around are lower than Leicester claiming the Premier League, so they are in our favour, right?' The Austrian veteran is discussing his fresh chapter as head coach of Newport County, and the monumental task of staving off a drop into non-league football. It is a challenge at the complete other end of the spectrum, though that fairytale title win in 2016 provided him with a great deal more than a winner's medal. {'It helped change my perspective a little bit ... it showed that the unattainable can be attainable,' he notes.

The Surprising Path to Rodney Parade

The obvious place to start is: what was the journey that led Fuchs find himself here? 'I guess that's the part that's not logical, right?' he states, erupting in a chuckle. This serves as the 39-year-old's introductory line and a clear sign of his playful character across a wide-ranging conversation. Discourse flows in various tangents, from being managed by the current England boss and the former Leicester manager to the pressing need to find a local barber.

He opens some mail on his desk. Included is a note from a Leicester supporter offering encouragement, along with a couple of professional photographs from that campaign. {'Young Fuchs,' he says, grinning. Another envelope brings a collection of old Panini stickers, one from an album marking Euro 2016, when he skippered Austria. A greeting from the Newport Supporters’ Club is displayed prominently. 'Stuff like this makes me very content,' he states.

A Previous Visit and a Typographical Error

Until coming back from North Carolina to accept his first job in senior management last month, Fuchs’s most recent encounter to Rodney Parade was in January 2019, when Leicester endured a Newport giantkilling in the FA Cup third round. On that occasion a former full-back faced off against Fuchs. {'He had the performance of his life,' Fuchs admits. But when the teamsheets were released, an amusing error came to light. {'You need to redact this,' Fuchs says with a smile. 'They misspelled 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.'

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 what followed is legendary. The Italian arrived at the club in the midst of a pre-season camp in Austria and his light-touch approach produced miracles. {'When you look at Claudio you envision an seasoned professional, so a veteran of the sport, maybe a bit old school, but he’s so not,' Fuchs explains. {'He just said he was going to watch 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 cherishes insights gained 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 test them psychologically?’’ Fuchs says of Tuchel. {'That’s a significant part of our methodology as well. How can you make good players who choose wisely? Back then he was probably in a similar situation to where I am now … very focused, very anxious to prove himself.'

Background and a Stubborn Character

Fuchs’s determination comes from his early years 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 good enough,' he reveals. {'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 can not do this, you can not do that.’ I’m going to show that I can and give absolutely everything. The other thing about my character is: I’m quite stubborn. If I see possibility, I’m going for it.'

Data-Driven Approach and the Battle 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, displaying a slide he presented to his players. {'The team hit numerous season peaks,' he explains, highlighting ball progression and statistics about breaking defensive lines. Passing accuracy was shown as 87%. {'Not satisfied with that … that needs to be in the mid-90s,' he insists. {'My first game, it was very long-ball, lower-league football, but we want to be unique. I think a five-yard pass has a higher probability to find its target than just going long all the time.'

The overarching numbers make bleak 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 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 crucial point. {'We need to be a force at home,' Fuchs emphasizes. {'It’s just not satisfactory, not even having a win. We need to create a impenetrable home.'

In the Thick of It at Heart

By his own acknowledgement, Fuchs likes a challenge. {'What’s so bad with that?' He hung up his boots less than three years ago and, like Tuchel, loves being in the thick of things. {'I’m a component of the group. I’m still a player at heart,' he remarks, pointing to his chest. {'At training I’m always getting involved in the small-sided games – two pannas already, get in! I want us to see each other as one team. Yes, you’re the ones on the field, but we’re a collective, we’re striving towards this collectively.'