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'The prospect of a seasonal revival is arguably a longer shot than that legendary 5,000-1 title, which logically puts the odds in our corner.' The Austrian veteran is reflecting on his new life as head coach of Newport County, and the monumental task of averting a drop into non-league football. Here lies a challenge at the polar opposite of the spectrum, though that miraculous title win in 2016 gave him much more than a champion's gong. {'It helped change my perspective a little bit ... it proved that the unthinkable can be achievable,' he notes.

'How Did Fuchs Find Himself Here?'

The natural place to start is: what brought Fuchs end up here? 'That's the element of the story that isn't straightforward, wouldn't you say?' he says, breaking into a laugh. This remark acts as the 39-year-old's opening gambit and a clear demonstration of his charismatic character across a wide-ranging conversation. The discussion flows in multiple pathways, from working under the current England boss and the former Leicester manager to the immediate requirement to find a local barber.

He looks at some post on his desk. Included is a message from a Leicester supporter offering encouragement, along with a couple of shiny pictures from that campaign. {'Young Fuchs,' he muses, with a smile. Another package brings a hoard of old stickers, one from an album marking Euro 2016, when he led Austria. A greeting from the Newport Supporters’ Club has pride of place. Things like this genuinely makes me very content,' he states.

A Previous Visit and a Funny Mistake

Prior to his move back from North Carolina to assume his first job in first-team coaching last month, Fuchs’s most recent encounter to Rodney Parade was in January 2019, when Leicester suffered a Newport cupset in the FA Cup third round. During that match David Pipe faced off against Fuchs. {'He had the game of his life,' Fuchs says. But when the teamsheets dropped, an curious error came to light. {'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 amusing because Fuchs, in German, means fox, so it’s something fitting.'

Lessons from Ranieri, Rodgers and Tuchel

His move to join the Foxes in the summer of 2015 turned out to be brilliant. A couple of weeks later Leicester brought in Claudio Ranieri and an iconic story unfolded. The Italian arrived at the club in the middle of a pre-season camp in Austria and his observational approach did the trick. {'When you see Claudio you picture an seasoned professional, so a veteran of the sport, maybe a bit traditional, but he’s so not,' Fuchs states. {'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 watched you for a week and I’m not going to alter 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 test them psychologically?’’ Fuchs says of Tuchel. {'That’s a significant part of our methodology 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 anxious to prove himself.'

Background and a Stubborn Nature

Fuchs’s determination 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 discloses. {'There are people who let that defeat 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 prove that I can and work my socks off. The other thing about my character is: I’m quite stubborn. If I see potential, I’m making it happen.'

Data-Driven Approach and the Fight for Survival

Fuchs’s assistant, Mark Smith, was born in Newport and had been in charge of Fuchs’s Fox Soccer Academy. Fuchs boots up his laptop to show statistics from a recent 2-2 draw, presenting a slide he used with his players. {'The team hit numerous season highs,' he explains, highlighting ball progression and statistics about penetrating defensive lines. Passing accuracy was logged at 87%. {'Not satisfied with that … that needs to be in the 90-95% range,' he insists. {'My first game, it was very physical, fourth-tier football, but we want to be unique. I think a five-yard pass has a higher probability to be successful than just launching it all the time.'

The general 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 says. {'It’s just not acceptable, not even having a win. We need to create a stronghold.'

In the Thick of It at Heart

By his own acknowledgement, Fuchs likes a challenge. {'What’s so bad with that?' He hung up his boots less than three years ago and, like Tuchel, likes being in the middle of the action. {'I’m a member of the group. I’m still a player inside,' he states, pointing to his chest. {'At training I’m always getting involved in the small-sided games – two pannas already, yes! I want us to see 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.'