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'The prospect of a late surge is arguably more remote than that fabled 5,000-1 title, which logically puts the odds in our corner.' The Austrian veteran is discussing his new life as boss of the Football League's bottom club, and the daunting task of preventing a descent into non-league football. It is a challenge at the polar opposite of the scale, though that unbelievable title win in 2016 provided him with far more than a champion's gong. {'It assisted in altering my outlook a little bit ... it showed that the unattainable can be attainable,' he remarks.

'How Did Fuchs End Up Here?'

The obvious place to start is: what brought Fuchs find himself here? 'I imagine that's the part that's unpredictable, right?' he says, breaking into a laugh. It is the 39-year-old's initial statement and a clear sign of his engaging character across a fascinating conversation. Discourse flows in various tangents, from playing for the current England boss and the former Leicester manager to the urgent quest to find a barber in the area.

He sorts through some correspondence on his desk. Among it is a note from a Leicester supporter wishing him well, along with a couple of professional photographs from that memorable year. {'Young Fuchs,' he muses, grinning. Another package brings a stash of old collector's items, one from an album celebrating Euro 2016, when he captained Austria. A greeting from the Newport Supporters’ Club has pride of place. 'Stuff like this really makes me very pleased,' he adds.

A Previous Visit and a Misspelt Name

Prior to returning from North Carolina to accept his first job in first-team coaching last month, Fuchs’s last trip to Rodney Parade was in January 2019, when Leicester endured a Newport shock defeat in the FA Cup third round. On that occasion David Pipe duelled against Fuchs. {'He had the match of his life,' Fuchs recalls. But when the teamsheets were released, an curious error came to light. {'You need to edit this,' Fuchs remarks. '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 pleasant.'

Experiences 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 the rest is history. The Italian joined the club in the heart of a pre-season camp in Austria and his light-touch approach worked wonders. {'When you look at Claudio you envision 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 observe 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 studied you for a week and I’m not going to modify anything.''

Fuchs values lessons learned from Rodgers and Tuchel, under whom he worked while on loan at Mainz. {'He always thought: ‘How can I get additional out of the players? How can I push them psychologically?’’ Fuchs says of Tuchel. {'That’s a big part of our philosophy as well. How can you make good decision-makers? Back then he was probably in a comparable position to where I am now … very driven, very eager to prove himself.'

Origins and a Resolute Character

Fuchs’s motivation originates in his childhood 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 skilled enough,' he reveals. {'There are people who let that get the better of 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 can not do that.’ I’m going to show that I can and put in the hard yards. The other thing about my personality is: I’m very 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 formerly ran Fuchs’s Fox Soccer Academy. Fuchs opens his laptop to show analytics from a recent 2-2 draw, presenting a slide he used with his players. {'The team hit several season bests,' he points out, 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 declares. {'My first game, it was very physical, lower-league football, but we want to be unique. I think a five-yard pass has a higher chance to arrive than just hoofing it all the time.'

The broader numbers make grim reading. Newport have won three of 19 league matches and are yet to win 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 injury-time equaliser with 10 men garnered a precious point. {'We need to be a power at home,' Fuchs stresses. {'It’s just not satisfactory, not even having a win. We need to create a stronghold.'

In the Thick of It at Heart

By his own acknowledgement, Fuchs relishes a challenge. {'What’s so negative with that?' He retired less than three years ago and, like Tuchel, likes being in the heart of the battle. {'I’m a part of the group. I’m still a player inside,' he states, indicating his chest. {'At training I’m always participating in the boxes – two megs already, yes! I want us to regard each other as one team. Yes, you’re the ones on the field, but we’re a collective, we’re striving towards this together.'