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'I would say that the likelihood of us reviving our campaign are less than Leicester winning the Premier League, so they are in our favor, right?' The Austrian veteran is discussing his recent venture as manager of Newport County, and the monumental task of averting a descent into non-league football. It is a challenge at the complete other end of the scale, though that fairytale title win in 2016 gave him a great deal more than a Premier League trophy. {'It contributed to shifting my outlook a little bit ... it demonstrated that the unthinkable can be possible,' he states.

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, letting out a laugh. This remark acts as the 39-year-old's introductory line and a clear demonstration of his charismatic character across a colourful conversation. Our talk runs in multiple pathways, from being managed by the current England boss and the former Leicester manager to the immediate requirement to find a barber in the area.

He opens some mail on his desk. There is a letter from a Leicester supporter sending best wishes, accompanied by a couple of professional photographs from that season. {'Young Fuchs,' he muses, grinning. Another delivery brings a stash of old stickers, one from an album commemorating Euro 2016, when he captained Austria. A note from the Newport Supporters’ Club has pride of place. Things like this genuinely makes me very happy,' he adds.

A Prior Encounter and a Misspelt Name

Prior to coming back from North Carolina to accept 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 faced off against Fuchs. {'He had the match of his career,' Fuchs says. But when the teamsheets dropped, an amusing error emerged. {'You need to redact this,' Fuchs says with a smile. 'They got wrong my name – somehow a 'k' crept in in place of the 'h'. It is hilarious because Fuchs, in German, means fox, so it’s something fitting.'

Experiences from The Tinkerman, Rodgers and Tuchel

His move to join the Foxes in the summer of 2015 turned out to be a masterstroke. A couple of weeks later Leicester hired 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 worked wonders. {'When you look at Claudio you imagine an older man, so long in the business, maybe a bit set in his ways, but he’s anything but,' Fuchs explains. {'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 studied you for a week and I’m not going to alter anything.''

Fuchs holds dear lessons learned from Rodgers and Tuchel, under whom he worked while on loan at Mainz. {'He always considered: ‘How can I get more out of the players? How can I test 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.'

Background and a Determined Mindset

Fuchs’s motivation originates in his early years 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 good enough,' he shares. {'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 cannot do this, you can't 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 promise, I’m going for it.'

Analytical Approach and the Struggle for Survival

Fuchs’s assistant, Mark Smith, was born in Newport and previously led Fuchs’s Fox Soccer Academy. Fuchs opens his laptop to show analytics from a recent 2-2 draw, presenting a slide he presented to his players. {'The team hit numerous season bests,' he says, emphasizing ball progression and statistics about getting behind defensive lines. Passing accuracy was shown as 87%. {'Not happy 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 different. I think a five-yard pass has a higher chance to arrive than just going long all the time.'

The overarching numbers paint 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 won a game 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 earned a crucial point. {'We need to be a force at home,' Fuchs stresses. {'It’s just not acceptable, not even having a win. We need to construct a stronghold.'

One of the Lads at Heart

By his own admission, Fuchs likes a challenge. {'What’s so wrong with that?' He retired less than three years ago and, like Tuchel, loves being in the middle of the action. {'I’m a member of the group. I’m still a player inside,' he remarks, tapping his chest. {'At training I’m always getting involved in the small-sided games – two pannas already, yes! 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 working on this together.'