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'I estimate that the chances of us reviving our campaign are slimmer than Leicester lifting the Premier League, so they are in our favour, right?' The Austrian veteran is discussing his new life as head coach of Newport County, and the immense task of staving off a fall into non-league football. This represents a challenge at the complete other end of the scale, though that unbelievable title win in 2016 gave him far more than a winner's medal. {'It helped change my perspective a little bit ... it proved that the unthinkable can be attainable,' he notes.

'How Did Fuchs Wind Up Here?'

The natural place to start is: what brought Fuchs wind up here? 'I guess that's the part that's illogical, right?' he comments, breaking into laughter. This serves as the 39-year-old's initial statement and a clear demonstration of his charismatic character across a wide-ranging conversation. Discourse travels in different directions, from being managed by the current England boss and Brendan Rodgers to the immediate requirement to find a local barber.

He looks at some post on his desk. Included is a note from a Leicester supporter sending best wishes, accompanied by a couple of professional photographs from that season. {'Young Fuchs,' he says, with a smile. Another delivery brings a stash of old stickers, one from an album celebrating Euro 2016, when he captained Austria. A card from the Newport Supporters’ Club is given special attention. Things like this genuinely makes me very pleased,' he concludes.

A Previous Visit and a Misspelt Name

Until his move back from North Carolina to accept his first job in first-team coaching last month, Fuchs’s previous visit to Rodney Parade was in January 2019, when Leicester suffered a Newport cupset in the FA Cup third round. On that occasion David Pipe duelled against Fuchs. {'He had the game of his career,' Fuchs says. But when the lineup cards dropped, an amusing error was discovered. {'You need to redact this,' Fuchs jokes. 'They misspelled my name – somehow a 'k' crept in in place of the 'h'. It is amusing because Fuchs, in German, means fox, so it’s something fitting.'

Insights from Ranieri, Rodgers and Tuchel

His move 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 middle of a pre-season camp in Austria and his hands-off approach produced miracles. {'When you observe Claudio you envision an seasoned professional, so experienced in the game, maybe a bit traditional, but he’s anything but,' Fuchs states. {'He just said he was going to monitor 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 observed you for a week and I’m not going to alter anything.''

Fuchs cherishes insights gained 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 psychologically?’’ Fuchs says of Tuchel. {'That’s a major part of our approach as well. How can you make good decision-makers? Back then he was probably in a similar situation to where I am now … very driven, very eager to prove himself.'

Origins and a Resolute Character

Fuchs’s motivation 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: ‘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 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 going for it.'

Detailed Approach and the Battle 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, sharing a slide he showed his players. {'The team hit numerous season peaks,' he points out, highlighting ball progression and statistics about breaking defensive lines. Passing accuracy was logged at 87%. {'Not satisfied with that … that needs to be in the mid-90s,' he declares. {'My first game, it was very direct, lower-league football, but we want to be unique. 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 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 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 secured a crucial point. {'We need to be a force at home,' Fuchs stresses. {'It’s just not good enough, not even having a win. We need to create a impenetrable home.'

Still a Player at Heart

By his own confession, 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 member of the group. I’m still a player inside,' he states, indicating his chest. {'At training I’m always joining in in the boxes – two megs already, brilliant! I want us to regard each other as a unified group. Yes, you’re the ones on the field, but we’re all in this together, we’re working on this collectively.'