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'I would say that the odds of us reviving our campaign are lower than Leicester lifting the Premier League, so they are in our favour, right?' The Austrian veteran is reflecting on his recent venture as head coach of the Football League's bottom club, and the daunting task of preventing a fall into non-league football. It is a challenge at the polar opposite of the scale, though that fairytale title win in 2016 furnished him a great deal more than a Premier League trophy. {'It helped change my perspective a little bit ... it demonstrated that the unthinkable can be attainable,' he remarks.

The Unlikely Path to Rodney Parade

The logical place to start is: what was the journey that led Fuchs end up here? 'I imagine that's the part that's not logical, right?' he comments, letting out a laugh. This remark acts as the 39-year-old's opening gambit and a clear sign of his charismatic character across a fascinating conversation. Our talk flows in different directions, from being managed by Thomas Tuchel and the former Leicester manager to the urgent quest to find a nearby hairdresser.

He opens some correspondence on his desk. There is a message from a Leicester supporter wishing him well, along with a couple of professional photographs from that memorable year. {'Young Fuchs,' he remarks, smiling. Another delivery brings a stash of old Panini stickers, one from an album commemorating Euro 2016, when he captained Austria. A greeting from the Newport Supporters’ Club is given special attention. 'Stuff like this makes me very happy,' he adds.

A Previous Visit and a Misspelt Name

Prior to coming back from North Carolina to assume his first job in first-team coaching last month, Fuchs’s most recent encounter to Rodney Parade was in January 2019, when Leicester suffered a Newport cupset in the FA Cup third round. That day the Newport kit man faced off against Fuchs. {'He had the performance of his career,' Fuchs says. But when the teamsheets came out, an amusing error came to light. {'You need to censor this,' Fuchs remarks. 'They misspelled 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 pleasant.'

Lessons from Ranieri, Rodgers and Tuchel

His choice to join the Foxes in the summer of 2015 was a masterstroke. A couple of weeks later Leicester appointed Claudio Ranieri and what followed is legendary. The Italian arrived at the club in the heart of a pre-season camp in Austria and his light-touch approach did the trick. {'When you look at Claudio you picture an elder gentleman, so a veteran of the sport, maybe a bit set in his ways, but he’s so not,' Fuchs explains. {'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 change anything.''

Fuchs cherishes experiences 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 challenge them mentally?’’ Fuchs says of Tuchel. {'That’s a significant part of our approach 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 driven, very eager to prove himself.'

Roots and a Determined Nature

Fuchs’s determination comes from 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 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 not do this, you cannot 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 determined. If I see promise, I’m doing it.'

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 fires up his laptop to show statistics from a recent 2-2 draw, sharing a slide he used with his players. {'The team hit several season bests,' he explains, noting ball progression and statistics about getting behind defensive lines. Passing accuracy was logged at 87%. {'Not happy with that … that needs to be in the 90-95% range,' he insists. {'My first game, it was very direct, fourth-tier football, but we want to be different. I think a five-yard pass has a higher probability to arrive than just launching it all the time.'

The overarching numbers make bleak reading. Newport have won 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 secured a crucial point. {'We need to be a dominant side at home,' Fuchs emphasizes. {'It’s just not good enough, not even having a win. We need to build a fortress.'

In the Thick of It at Heart

By his own admission, Fuchs relishes a challenge. {'What’s so wrong with that?' He retired less than three years ago and, like Tuchel, likes being in the heart of the battle. {'I’m a component of the group. I’m still a player inside,' he says, pointing to his chest. {'At training I’m always getting involved in the boxes – two pannas already, get in! I want us to view each other as one team. Yes, you’re the ones on the field, but we’re all in this together, we’re striving towards this together.'