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'The prospect of a seasonal revival is arguably a longer shot than that fabled 5,000-1 title, which somehow puts the odds in our favor.' The Austrian veteran is reflecting on his fresh chapter as boss of the Football League's bottom club, and the monumental task of preventing a fall into non-league football. It is a challenge at the complete other end of the spectrum, though that fairytale title win in 2016 gave him much more than a Premier League trophy. {'It contributed to shifting my perspective a little bit ... it showed that the unattainable can be achievable,' he states.

The Illogical Path to Rodney Parade

The natural place to start is: what brought Fuchs find himself here? 'That's the element of the story that defies logic, wouldn't you say?' he states, breaking into a laugh. This remark acts as the 39-year-old's opening gambit and a clear demonstration of his engaging character across a colourful conversation. Discourse runs in different directions, from being managed by Thomas Tuchel and the former Leicester manager to the urgent quest to find a local barber.

He opens some mail on his desk. There is a message from a Leicester supporter sending best wishes, paired with a couple of professional photographs from that season. {'Young Fuchs,' he says, grinning. Another delivery brings a hoard of old stickers, one from an album commemorating Euro 2016, when he skippered Austria. A greeting from the Newport Supporters’ Club has pride of place. 'Stuff like this genuinely makes me very happy,' he adds.

A Previous Visit and a Typographical Error

Until his move back from North Carolina to assume his first job in senior management last month, Fuchs’s last trip to Rodney Parade was in January 2019, when Leicester were on the end of a Newport cupset in the FA Cup third round. That day a former full-back faced off against Fuchs. {'He had the performance of his life,' Fuchs admits. But when the lineup cards dropped, an interesting error was discovered. {'You need to censor this,' Fuchs jokes. 'They misspelt 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.'

Insights from Claudio, Rodgers and Tuchel

His decision to join the Foxes in the summer of 2015 was inspired. A couple of weeks later Leicester brought in Claudio Ranieri and an iconic story unfolded. The Italian came to the club in the heart of a pre-season camp in Austria and his observational approach produced miracles. {'When you see Claudio you envision an seasoned professional, so a veteran of the sport, maybe a bit old school, but he’s so not,' Fuchs says. {'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 change anything.''

Fuchs holds dear experiences 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 challenge them psychologically?’’ Fuchs says of Tuchel. {'That’s a big 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 focused, very eager to prove himself.'

Origins and a Determined Nature

Fuchs’s drive comes from his childhood in Neunkirchen. {'There are comparisons to where we are now, because I was told when I was 11 years old that I would never be good enough,' he discloses. {'There are people who let that defeat them or there are people who say: ‘Fuchs you, I’m going to show you.’ I’ve been told too many times: ‘You can't do this, you can't do that.’ I’m going to demonstrate that I can and work my socks off. The other thing about my make-up is: I’m very stubborn. If I see promise, I’m making it happen.'

Analytical Approach and the Fight for Survival

Fuchs’s assistant, Mark Smith, was born in Newport and previously led Fuchs’s Fox Soccer Academy. Fuchs fires up his laptop to show data from a recent 2-2 draw, displaying a slide he presented to his players. {'The team hit numerous season bests,' he points out, emphasizing ball progression and statistics about breaking defensive lines. Passing accuracy was shown as 87%. {'Not pleased with that … that needs to be in the 90-95% range,' he states. {'My first game, it was very physical, fourth-tier football, but we want to be distinct. I think a five-yard pass has a higher percentage to arrive than just launching it all the time.'

The broader numbers make bleak reading. Newport have secured 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 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 earned a precious point. {'We need to be a force at home,' Fuchs emphasizes. {'It’s just not good enough, not even having a win. We need to build a stronghold.'

In the Thick of It at Heart

By his own acknowledgement, Fuchs relishes a challenge. {'What’s so negative with that?' He hung up his boots less than three years ago and, like Tuchel, likes being in the thick of things. {'I’m a component of the group. I’m still a player in here,' he remarks, indicating his chest. {'At training I’m always joining in in the drills – two megs already, get in! I want us to regard each other as a single unit. Yes, you’re the ones on the field, but we’re a collective, we’re striving towards this together.'