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'The prospect of a seasonal revival is arguably a longer shot than that legendary 5,000-1 title, which strangely puts the odds in our favor.' The Austrian veteran is talking about his fresh chapter as manager of the Football League's bottom club, and the monumental task of averting a drop into non-league football. It is a challenge at the polar opposite of the spectrum, though that miraculous title win in 2016 furnished him much more than a winner's medal. {'It contributed to shifting my perspective a little bit ... it showed that the unthinkable can be achievable,' he notes.

The Surprising Path to Rodney Parade

The natural place to start is: what brought Fuchs find himself here? 'I guess that's the part that's unpredictable, right?' he comments, breaking into a chuckle. This serves as the 39-year-old's opening gambit and a clear indication of his engaging character across a wide-ranging conversation. The discussion flows in multiple pathways, from playing for Thomas Tuchel and Brendan Rodgers to the urgent quest to find a barber in the area.

He looks at some mail on his desk. Included is a message from a Leicester supporter wishing him well, along with a couple of shiny pictures from that campaign. {'Young Fuchs,' he remarks, grinning. Another envelope brings a stash of old Panini stickers, one from an album celebrating Euro 2016, when he captained Austria. A card from the Newport Supporters’ Club has pride of place. Things like this genuinely makes me very happy,' he states.

A Previous Visit and a Funny Mistake

Prior to coming back from North Carolina to assume his first job in senior management last month, Fuchs’s most recent encounter to Rodney Parade was in January 2019, when Leicester were on the end of a Newport shock defeat in the FA Cup third round. On that occasion a former full-back faced off against Fuchs. {'He had the match of his career,' Fuchs says. But when the teamsheets were released, an interesting error was discovered. {'You need to redact this,' Fuchs remarks. 'They misspelled my name – somehow a 'k' found its way 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 choice to join the Foxes in the summer of 2015 turned out to be a masterstroke. A couple of weeks later Leicester appointed Claudio Ranieri and an iconic story unfolded. The Italian arrived at the club in the middle of a pre-season camp in Austria and his light-touch approach did the trick. {'When you see Claudio you imagine an older man, so experienced in the game, maybe a bit old school, but he’s the complete opposite,' Fuchs states. {'He just said he was going to watch training in Austria for the first week. He remained on the sidelines 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 insights gained from Rodgers and Tuchel, under whom he worked while on loan at Mainz. {'He always pondered: ‘How can I get more out of the players? How can I challenge them mentally?’’ Fuchs says of Tuchel. {'That’s a major part of our methodology 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 driven, very keen to prove himself.'

Background and a Resolute Nature

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 skilled enough,' he reveals. {'There are people who let that defeat 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 cannot do that.’ I’m going to demonstrate that I can and give absolutely everything. The other thing about my personality is: I’m quite stubborn. If I see promise, I’m going for it.'

Analytical Approach and the Fight for Survival

Fuchs’s assistant, Mark Smith, was born in Newport and formerly ran Fuchs’s Fox Soccer Academy. Fuchs boots up his laptop to show data from a recent 2-2 draw, sharing a slide he showed his players. {'The team hit many, many season highs,' he says, highlighting ball progression and statistics about getting behind defensive lines. Passing accuracy was shown as 87%. {'Not satisfied with that … that needs to be in the mid-90s,' he states. {'My first game, it was very direct, fourth-tier football, but we want to be distinct. I think a five-yard pass has a higher chance to arrive than just going long all the time.'

The broader numbers make grim reading. Newport have won 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 last-gasp equaliser with 10 men secured a crucial point. {'We need to be a dominant side at home,' Fuchs says. {'It’s just not satisfactory, not even having a win. We need to build a stronghold.'

In the Thick of It at Heart

By his own acknowledgement, Fuchs enjoys a challenge. {'What’s so wrong with that?' He hung up his boots less than three years ago and, like Tuchel, loves being in the heart of the battle. {'I’m a component of the group. I’m still a player in here,' he says, pointing to his chest. {'At training I’m always getting involved in the drills – two nutmegs already, yes! I want us to view each other as a single unit. Yes, you’re the ones on the field, but we’re all in this together, we’re working on this together.'