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'I reckon that the likelihood of us transforming our fortunes are less than Leicester winning the Premier League, so they are in our favor, right?' The Austrian veteran is reflecting on his new life as manager of the Football League's bottom club, and the monumental task of staving off a descent into non-league football. Here lies a challenge at the polar opposite of the scale, though that unbelievable title win in 2016 provided him with a great deal more than a Premier League trophy. {'It assisted in altering my perspective a little bit ... it showed that the unattainable can be possible,' he remarks.

The Unlikely Path to Rodney Parade

The natural place to start is: how did Fuchs find himself here? 'I imagine that's the part that's illogical, right?' he states, breaking into laughter. It is the 39-year-old's initial statement and a clear demonstration of his charismatic character across a wide-ranging conversation. Our talk runs in multiple pathways, from being managed by the current England boss and Brendan Rodgers to the immediate requirement to find a barber in the area.

He sorts through some mail on his desk. There is a message from a Leicester supporter sending best wishes, along with a couple of professional photographs from that season. {'Young Fuchs,' he remarks, smiling. Another envelope brings a hoard of old collector's items, one from an album commemorating Euro 2016, when he skippered Austria. A card from the Newport Supporters’ Club has pride of place. 'Stuff like this genuinely makes me very happy,' he adds.

A Previous Visit and a Misspelt Name

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 cupset in the FA Cup third round. During that match a former full-back duelled against Fuchs. {'He had the game of his career,' Fuchs admits. But when the lineup cards came out, an interesting error emerged. {'You need to redact this,' Fuchs jokes. 'They misspelled my name – somehow a 'k' found its way in in place of the 'h'. It is amusing because Fuchs, in German, means fox, so it’s something nice.'

Experiences from Ranieri, Rodgers and Tuchel

His choice to join the Foxes in the summer of 2015 was brilliant. A couple of weeks later Leicester hired Claudio Ranieri and what followed is legendary. The Italian came to the club in the heart of a pre-season camp in Austria and his hands-off approach worked wonders. {'When you see Claudio you picture an seasoned professional, so a veteran of the sport, maybe a bit old school, but he’s the complete opposite,' Fuchs says. {'He just said he was going to observe 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 observed you for a week and I’m not going to change anything.''

Fuchs cherishes experiences from Rodgers and Tuchel, under whom he worked while on loan at Mainz. {'He always considered: ‘How can I get extra out of the players? How can I push them mentally?’’ Fuchs says of Tuchel. {'That’s a major part of our methodology as well. How can you make good thinkers on the pitch? Back then he was probably in a analogous place to where I am now … very focused, very anxious to prove himself.'

Origins and a Determined Character

Fuchs’s determination stems from his upbringing 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 get the better of them or there are people who say: ‘Fuchs 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 demonstrate that I can and put in the hard yards. The other thing about my personality is: I’m pretty stubborn. If I see possibility, I’m going for it.'

Analytical Approach and the Struggle for Survival

Fuchs’s assistant, Mark Smith, was born in Newport and had been in charge of Fuchs’s Fox Soccer Academy. Fuchs fires up his laptop to show data from a recent 2-2 draw, sharing a slide he presented to his players. {'The team hit numerous season highs,' he says, highlighting ball progression and statistics about getting behind defensive lines. Passing accuracy was recorded at 87%. {'Not pleased with that … that needs to be in the mid-90s,' he states. {'My first game, it was very long-ball, fourth-tier football, but we want to be unique. I think a five-yard pass has a higher chance to be successful than just launching it all the time.'

The overarching 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 tasted victory 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 valuable point. {'We need to be a dominant side at home,' Fuchs stresses. {'It’s just not satisfactory, not even having a win. We need to construct a stronghold.'

Still a Player 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, likes being in the middle of the action. {'I’m a part of the group. I’m still a player inside,' he remarks, pointing to his chest. {'At training I’m always participating in the boxes – two pannas already, brilliant! I want us to regard each other as a single unit. Yes, you’re the ones on the field, but we’re one team, we’re striving towards this as one.'