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'I estimate that the chances of us reviving our campaign are less than Leicester lifting the Premier League, so they are in our favor, right?' The Austrian veteran is reflecting on his fresh chapter as manager of the Football League's bottom club, and the monumental task of averting a descent into non-league football. Here lies a challenge at the polar opposite of the spectrum of success, though that fairytale title win in 2016 provided him with a great deal more than a winner's medal. {'It helped change my outlook a little bit ... it demonstrated that the unthinkable can be attainable,' he remarks.

The Surprising Path to Rodney Parade

The obvious place to start is: how did Fuchs find himself here? 'I imagine that's the part that's unpredictable, right?' he says, breaking into laughter. This serves as the 39-year-old's introductory line and a clear demonstration of his charismatic character across a fascinating conversation. Our talk travels 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. There is a note from a Leicester supporter sending best wishes, accompanied by a couple of shiny pictures from that season. {'Young Fuchs,' he muses, with a smile. Another envelope brings a collection of old Panini stickers, one from an album commemorating Euro 2016, when he skippered Austria. A card from the Newport Supporters’ Club has pride of place. Items like this really makes me very pleased,' he adds.

A Past Trip and a Funny Mistake

Prior to his move back from North Carolina to accept 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. On that occasion the Newport kit man competed with Fuchs. {'He had the game of his life,' Fuchs says. But when the teamsheets came out, an curious error was discovered. {'You need to censor this,' Fuchs remarks. 'They misspelled my name – somehow a 'k' smuggled itself in in place of the 'h'. It is hilarious because Fuchs, in German, means fox, so it’s something nice.'

Experiences from Claudio, Rodgers and Tuchel

His choice to join the Foxes in the summer of 2015 was brilliant. A couple of weeks later Leicester hired Claudio Ranieri and what followed is legendary. The Italian joined the club in the heart of a pre-season camp in Austria and his observational approach worked wonders. {'When you observe Claudio you envision an older man, so experienced in the game, maybe a bit set in his ways, but he’s the complete opposite,' 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 studied you for a week and I’m not going to change 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 additional out of the players? How can I push 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 comparable position to where I am now … very focused, very anxious to prove himself.'

Origins and a Resolute Character

Fuchs’s motivation stems 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 capable enough,' he discloses. {'There are people who let that get the better of 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 not do that.’ I’m going to demonstrate that I can and give absolutely everything. The other thing about my make-up is: I’m very stubborn. If I see possibility, I’m making it happen.'

Data-Driven Approach and the Battle for Survival

Fuchs’s assistant, Mark Smith, was born in Newport and had been in charge of Fuchs’s Fox Soccer Academy. Fuchs fires up his laptop to show analytics from a recent 2-2 draw, sharing a slide he used with his players. {'The team hit several season highs,' he points out, noting ball progression and statistics about breaking defensive lines. Passing accuracy was shown as 87%. {'Not happy with that … that needs to be in the 90-95% range,' he declares. {'My first game, it was very direct, fourth-tier football, but we want to be distinct. I think a five-yard pass has a higher chance to be successful than just going long all the time.'

The broader numbers present 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 earned a precious point. {'We need to be a force at home,' Fuchs says. {'It’s just not good enough, not even having a win. We need to create a impenetrable home.'

One of the Lads at Heart

By his own confession, Fuchs enjoys a challenge. {'What’s so bad with that?' He hung up his boots less than three years ago and, like Tuchel, loves being in the middle of the action. {'I’m a part of the group. I’m still a player at heart,' he says, indicating his chest. {'At training I’m always getting involved in the small-sided games – two pannas already, brilliant! I want us to regard each other as a unified group. Yes, you’re the ones on the field, but we’re a collective, we’re working on this as one.'